Takeover
by 1wildrose1
Summary: For four years, war has raged throughout Domino, devastating everything and everyone in its path. But now a new power is approaching - one that will force the deadliest of enemies to cooperate. A new day is dawning... BEGINNING CHAPTERS GOING TO BE REWRITTEN IN THE NEAR FUTURE
1. Ongoing War

This is a 'normal' story that is not really inspired by anything. There are no card games or millennium/sennen items in this but there is magic and stuff.

**Warnings:** V**iolence, gore, shounen-ai, yaoi, language and sexual references. There might be more if it crops up in later chapters. There will be no shounen-ai or yaoi in this chapter but there will be warnings if there is in later ones.**

BTW: I've made Leon and Mokuba sixteen and I've stolen Bakura's surname from Bakurasgirl, you should read her fics, they are really amazing!

**Ongoing War**

The river that ran through Domino flowed with the fallen; the stench of blood stained the air. Every man, woman and child that remained kept only to their families and stayed out of the crossfire. The streets of the city were never occupied if the citizens could help it. The occasional person scurried down a street to try to scrape together a scrap or two of food to keep them and their family alive for another day.

At first, many roamed outside their homes, not caring about the current situation, but then, an event occurred that no-one would forget in a long time: a man, only in his early twenties, was caught by the South Side trying to leave the city; he was publicly skinned alive; his body was still nailed down where it was left. His flesh now curled in rot.

The North Side and the South Side; two sides of an ongoing war. The conflict had started three years ago when two of the most powerful families in Japan decided to relocate to Domino and both tried to take control. The Kaiba family (the South Side) and the Von Schroeder family (the North Side). This war was more like a huge street fight since the two sides were hardly armies. The two families had gathered a few people together, all aged between sixteen and twenty. Why are people so scared then? Simple. These people were not ordinary; they had extraordinary and deadly destructive powers. People who had been discarded from their homes for being 'freaks' and had no real sense of self preservation. Or of guilt.

Of the North Side, the members were Yugi Motou, seventeen; he had the power of life. Ryou

Bakura, seventeen; he had power over water. Malik Ishtar, eighteen; he governed Ice. Duke Devlin, nineteen; he crafted stone to his will. Joey Wheeler, nineteen; he controlled light. And finally, those in the family who controlled earth, Leon Von Schroeder, sixteen, and the leader of the North Side: Zigfried Von Schroeder, twenty.

Of the South Side, the members were Yami Atemu, eighteen; he had power of death. Bakura Itemri, eighteen; he could wield thunder. Marik Ishtar, nineteen; he ruled over fire. Tristan Taylor, nineteen; he dominated wind. And finally, those in the family, who controlled the darkness, Mokuba Kaiba, sixteen, and the leader of the South Side: Seto Kaiba.

Sunrise was soon; the ceasefire would end the second the light bathed Domino.

* * *

Notes: This is just the prologue, the real chapters will be longer.


	2. Disapear In The Dark

BTW: Zigfried is not an evil bastard in this.

**Disappear In The Dark**

"Oh, God! It's happening! Get everyone inside!"

There was a rush of people as the few citizens who dared occupy the streets all fought their way into the nearest building.

Seven teenagers stalked down one end of the street. Six were laughing, jumping and shouting – pumped with adrenaline, excited for battle – and the seventh was walking silently, a look of complete determination set upon his features. The North Side.

At the opposite end of the street, six other teens were thundering towards the rowdy bunch. This side were all storming silently and the looks on their faces cast an eerie atmosphere that soon had the North Side quietening down, but not backing away. They were outnumbered by one person, one person who could tip the battle, but these fighters were ruthless. This would be an even fight. This was the South Side after all.

"Hey, Motou! I hear your grandfather isn't feeling too well!"

Yugi winced, his grandfather had been caught by the South Side a week ago; they had sent his body back the day after. It was in such a state that even the strongest stomachs would have retched at the sight.

Joey growled low in his throat.

"Shut it, Itemri!"

"Oh! What's puppy going to do? Are you going to bark at me?" The South Side laughed loudly, mocking the other group. "Ooh, don't rough me up, doggie! I swear I'll walk you every day from now on."

"I'd tell you what I'll do to you, 'master', but it's so much more fun to show you!"

With that the thirteen teens pelted spells at each other at the same time. They were all trying to dodge the spells but especially from Yugi and Yami; why they avoided the death spells was obvious, but Yugi's attacking life spells had never been tested before and no-one wanted to know what would happen.

They flew at each other, punching, stabbing, ripping. No guns would kill them, but knives which were filled with magic were deadly.

The air was filled with yelled commands and shouts for help. There was also the occasional screams of agony.

Ryou and Malik took on Marik and, together, were just about able to keep up with his bolts of lightning. Yugi was running around, healing the members of his team that had been hurt in the progress of battle. Leon and Mokuba were battling each other, it looked like someone had fast-forwarded them because the two young-ones were speedily casting and dodging. Everyone else was attacking anytime and anyone on the other side that they could.

A woman screamed; a citizen who was unable to retreat in time. She was slammed by a black dagger of magic and she was ended. Death.

The metallic taste of blood filled Yugi's senses as he was slammed in the face with a jet of lightning, knocking him out. Marik smirked at his work.

Seto noticed the progress his warriors had made.

"Retreat!"

The South Side stopped and looked curiously at their leader, but they knew better than to question him so they all growled at their opponents and took off. The want for a kill was ever present in their minds.

"Hey! Get back here and fight!"

"Duke, don't! Enough of us have been hurt!"

"But, Zigfried..."

"Let's go." Their leader stared at the backs of their retreating foes, straining his mind for a reason why they didn't finish them. They were winning this time which was pretty rare; they were usually do evenly matched. But this time the North was pretty badly hit from the last battle, they were tired and weakened. Every other battle they had started at sunrise and did not stop until sundown for an agreed ceasefire. But this battle lasted no more than an hour. Why did they not claim victory?

Joey looked around as the North Side started to leave.

"Wait! Where's Yugi?"

The others stopped and looked; Yugi was indeed gone, his blood still strewn where he once lay. Leon was the first to take action. He started to run at the South Side, only slightly visible by now, but Ryou took him on, grabbing his waist and holding him there as he fought with everything he still had to be released.

"You bastards! Give him back! Give him back now!"

"Leon, stop! We can't just walk up to them, we are too tired right now. We wait."

"But, Malik, what if it turns out like his grandfather?" The others winced: Leon was right, but they were too weak and tired at the moment to do anything about it. "You know what they're like! They'll think that killing a whole family is ceremonial or something. Don't let them!"

Zigfried sighed and started towards HQ.

"So that's it? We leave Yug' in those asshole's hands?"

"Joey!"

Joey hesitated, seething at his best friend's capture, knowing there was nothing they could do. Finally, he nodded, resigned, and walked as well. The others also followed, all thinking the same thing: we will get him back!

* * *

"He looks just like you, Yami."

"Yeah, he does...Did you have to gag, blindfold and tie him up? To a bed?"

"Yes. It is compulsory!"

"Marik, pray tell: Why?"

"It's more comfortable for us if we want to 'interrogate' him."

"You perv. He can't be older than, like, fourteen."

"All the more fun."

"Oh, God..."

Yugi heard all of this, though he could not see it. He could feel he was on a bed of some sort because he could feel the silky sheets and his head was on an extremely soft pillow. His wrists were cuffed to the headboard and his ankles were bound to either of the posts at the foot of the bed. A cloth was tied tightly around his eyes and a thick piece of leather was between his teeth.

"Hey he's awake."

"How'd you know, fluffy?"

"Don't call me fluffy!" An odd cackle sounded after a swishing noise; he obviously missed. "Look: his breathing has quickened, meaning he's panicking."

"Ah! I see...you probably shouldn't know that..." It was Bakura's turn to giggle insanely. "Hey, Motou. Welcome to South Side HQ."

There was a sound of a hand being clapped to someone's head.

"_Ow!_"

"Ha! Got you that time! You don't tell the hostage where he is!"

"He doesn't know where our HQ is anyway, fluffy."

There was a growl and scuffling followed by the obvious sounds of fighting. Yugi whimpered: _I'm going to die here._

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	3. Torture

**WARNING: Torture and slight shounen-ai.**

[... = What is happening in the video.

**Torture**

At the North Side HQ, Zigfried was in his office, planning any way to defeat their enemy and Leon was in his bedroom, planning any way to get Yugi back. Everyone else were in the living room, eating dinner and resting up. They were all worried about Yugi, but Leon was the only one who couldn't see that now Yugi was in South Side's hands, he was as good as dead.

Leon was working through sheets and books, anything to find out about South Side HQ, when suddenly there was a thud on the floor in-front of him and a screech of a motorcycle. He looked up to see a cassette box with a note attached: '_This is what your friend has become'._

"Guys! Guys, its a video and I think its about Yugi!"

The others' heads shot up and Joey lurched forward, grabbed the cassette and shoved it in the VCR; Zigfried had heard his brother's antics and had come to inspect.

[_Yugi was cuffed to a bed. He was gagged and blindfolded, dressed in only his black boxers while he struggled against the binds._

_Marik and Bakura walked into the room and sat on the bed._

_"Right, little Yugi, say hello to your friends."_

_Yugi just mumbled a bit and then whimpered._

_"Oh yeah, your gagged, so you can't say hello. Silly me."_

"This is sick"

Joey had said what they were all thinking. Yugi was suffering and there was nothing they could do.

[_"Hey, fluffy, do you think its Yugi's bath time yet?"_

"_Don't call me fluffy! And yes, I do think he should have a wash."_

_The two psychos picked up a bucket of water each and threw it over Yugi, causing the young man to shriek in pain, since one of the buckets were freezing cold, ice cubes still clinging to his skin, and one was, literally, steaming hot._

"_Tun it off, turn it off now!"_

No-one moved. It was like a train crash; you want to look away, but can't.

[_"There we go! All clean."_

_The boy on the bed shivered in pain. It was obvious he knew what was next. Bakura pulled out a knife and wet it with his tongue before he dipped it in a vat of salt._

_Yugi screamed and shrieked as the albino streaked line after line across his stomach. Crimson rivers followed the knife as it drew on its canvas._

_When Bakura had finished, the lines were readable: I belong to the one who causes me pain._

Leon had tears in his eyes as he saw Yugi's chest rise and fall in pained gasps. The screen went blank, signalling the end. Duke stood to turn the television off, but Ryou stopped him as a figure appeared on the set before them.

[_"That was the end of this weeks show! Tune in next week for updates! Oh, by the way, we will take good care of him, he won't die. We like him a bit too much, if you know what I mean."_

_The figure, Marik, cackled._

"_Ta ta!"_

The cassette ejected itself and shot out of the slot to then blow up. The boys around it, shielding their faces from the debris.

"W-what did he mean by 'we like him a bit too much'?"

The others looked at each other, they knew it couldn't be good.

"Nothing, Leon."

With that the group separated to their own spaces, all thinking the same thing: _We'll get him back!_

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	4. Traitor

WARNING: Shounen-ai

**Traitor**

Yugi lay on the bed breathing heavily; blood pouring from his still open wounds. The silky sheets beneath him were stained in the crimson fluid and the sweat that made the boy's body glisten.

Yugi was alone in the eerie room. Yugi knew that the only light, as if he needed it, were candles on the side tables that were either side of the huge bed he lay on. He knew this because the light flickered in an orange fuzz that shone through the fabric over his eyes. The leather between his teeth tasted bitter and was damp from his panicked breaths that flew to and from his lips.

There was a camera at the end of the bed that recorded every move he made. Yugi knew this and felt incredibly self-concious of the fact that he was only wearing his boxers and that the entire South Side could see his almost bare fragile and vulnerable body. This also meant that he couldn't use his powers to heal himself – he was terrified that, if he tried, they would bare down of him like a tonne of deathly magical bricks.

The door opened, the sound of feet on the ground rang in Yugi's ears. Whimpering, Yugi tried to make himself as small as possible, to no avail, and a weight was felt on the bed next to him. Yugi pulled as far away as he could with his wrists and ankles cuffed to the four corners of the bed; this person had not spoke, so he could be Marik or Bakura. It could even be, God forbid, Seto. If Yugi's eyes could widen, they would have as the newcomer finally spoke.

"Hello, little one."

* * *

"So, Marik is on Patrol with Tristan, Bakura and Mokuba are guarding our guest and Yami is keeping an eye on the city. Looks like I've got the afternoon to myself."

Seto smirked. He loved his alone-time more than any other time; he could think about a certain puppy that he could never be with.

* * *

"W-what? Did I fall asleep?" Mokuba looked over at Bakura who was also stirring. An odd taste lingered in his mouth – bitter, unidentifiable. He sat up an pressed himself into the wall behind him in an attempt to still the swirling world around him. "Bakura?"

When the albino fully awoke, holding his head, groaning, he peered into the room that they were guarding and growled venomously.

"Alert Seto – Motou has escaped!"

* * *

The city was in tatters; Seto had been furious that anyone could escape his clutches and had ordered his warriors to turn the city upside down if they had to, to find the little escapee that looked so much like his best fighter. Speaking of Yami, the star-haired teen had not yet returned from city scouring, so the city was also being upturned to find him.

Most of the citizens had been interrogated and threatened with public torture and death if they were lying; they all swore that they hadn't seen them. Bakura had assured the tall brunette that they were telling the truth. Bakura had a talent of sorts that enabled him to read people's body language and facial expressions like a book.

"Ah! Yami, where the HELL are you?!"

"Calm down, boss. It's only Yami. Knowing him, he probably took his little look-alike to have some of his own private fun."

"Shut it, fluffy!"

"For fuck sake! Why do you people call me fluffy?! I feel like a human furbie!"

Mokuba snorted at Bakura's despair, causing said albino to grab his collar in a threatening way.

"Put my brother down!"

Bakura dropped the raven haired boy instantly and resumed tearing at random doorways in a vein attempt to find the wild haired teens. Suddenly, Seto's mobile rang – a rare sound that had the teens pausing to stare at it. Seto pulled himself together and answered it. "Yes?"

"...Seto..."

"Yami!?" Everyone around him gawped at him, convinced they hadn't heard right. They were never allowed to call encase of a dire emergency. This was big.

"They...got me. Sorry. There's so many of them now...they're building..."

"Building? Building what?" Seto was growling down the phone in frustration. "Yami, where are you? And where is the kid?"

"I don't know...where he is...I saw him gone and went crazy...They're building, Seto!"

"What are they building?!"

"An army."

* * *

"Hey, guys! Have you heard?"

"Obviously not, since its your job to gather news."

"Ha ha, so funny. Anyway, Yugi escaped and the whole South Side is looking for him!"

The other boys jumped and shouted in triumph. Joey laughed and playfully punched Duke on the shoulder. "I knew Yug'd escape! Didn't I tell you, Duke?"

"Uh, no."

"Well...I meant to."

Leon let the news he gave sink in, his face expressionless. "Hey Leon, why so glum? Oh...there's more, right?"

"Yeah, Yami went missing with him. There's a good chance that he didn't escape and is suffering somewhere at Yami's hands."

"That's stupid. Why would Yami take Yugi and not tell his team, then just let them tear Domino in two?"

"The South Side are sick. Especially Bakura, Marik and YAMI. They would do anything."

"Your right, brother. We should go out and look, also."

Zigfried had arrived and had listened to their conversation. Ryou and Malik had also joined the scene. Ryou's eyes were red and puffy and Malik's hand was on his shoulder in a comforting motion.

"What's up, Ry?"

Ryou just shook his head and wiped him nose on his sleeve. Malik spoke up to draw attention away from Ryou.

"So are we going or what?"

"Were going. Come on people; we've got a Yugi to find!"

* * *

Underneath the city, in a room that was just a mile from the sewer entrance, two teenagers sat on a sofa, lip locked. When they finally pulled away, the younger of the two placed his forehead the elder one's chest, tracing the deep gash on his shoulder with his fingers – a gash with makeshift stitches holding it together, like all the other wounds which distorted his body.

"What if they find us?"

"Then I'll lay out my life to protect you."

The teen smiled sweetly, tears rolling down his face. "I'm scared, Yami...that army...it will kill us all."

The fighter trembled and pulled the smaller boy closer. "We'll just have to save them when we can, Yugi."

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	5. Silent Secrets

WARNING: Shounen-ai

**Silent Secrets**

The room was the size of a small apartment and had walls separating the bathroom and kitchen. Yami had stocked the shelves with enough food to last them a month on his last 'city scour'. Yami and Yugi lay on the sofa, snuggling, with a blanket draped loosely over their bare bodies. The younger one was sleeping peacefully while the elder one held him close to his chest. Yami was not sleeping; his mind was reeling with questions on how they were going to pull this off. They were good for food for a month, but what about when it runs out? What were they going to do about clothes? Yami knew he could live his life with only his love and no-one else, but what about Yugi's friends? Yugi adored his friends. What if they found them before he healed? Yugi had tried to help them along, but the torture he endured had weakened him, mentally, physically and magically.

Yami merely sighed and kissed his koi's forehead; they would come to that later. Right now, Yami needed to protect Yugi. Said boy started to stir.

"Yami? How long have we been here?"

"About two days, aibou."

"Oh...okay."

Yugi snuggled closer and closed his eyes again. Yami knew what Yugi really wanted to ask: w_hy haven't we heard news yet?_

* * *

"Where is he, you lowlife scum of the earth?!"

"If we knew that, puppy, we wouldn't be looking for him."

"Shut it, fluffy. Why are you even bothering to look for him?"

"I thought you just told me to shut it."

Joey growled in his throat.

"Anyway, I have grown acquired to the taste of his blood. Plus Seto has his pride thing."

Joey looked as though he was going to lurch forward and punch his teeth out but before he could Ryou stepped in-front of the taller albino and slapped him in the face; hard.

The surrounding teens just stared at the two white haired boys; they were shocked at the fact that Ryou was brave enough to stand up to Bakura of all people; even more shocked at Bakura looking thoroughly ashamed and... sorry.

Ryou turned and started to walk away.

"Ryou, wait!"

"Enough, Bakura!"

Ryou carried on walking and mounted his motorbike, waiting for the rest of his team.

"What was that? You called Ryou by his given name." Joey looked confused as hell.

"If I called him Bakura he would have slapped me more."

"What?" This time Marik spoke up.

"Nothing, let's go."

"Wait, Ryou, I want to know what's going on."

"You'll be waiting a long time, Malik."

"Oh! Big man has grown balls!"

"Shut it, Taylor."

Everyone looked at Bakura for his comment; they expected either Joey or Duke to say that, not Bakura. On their side.

"Right, what's going on?"

"Fine, I'll show you what's going on."

Ryou jumped off his motorbike and strode up to Bakura and pulled his face to his and roughly kissed him. It took only a second for Bakura to regain his composure and kissed his lover back.

The surrounding boys just gaped at the lip locked teens in-front of them. The scene was frozen until Tristan darted forwards and dragged Bakura away from Ryou.

"What do you think you're doing?! He's a North!"

"So what?"

Marik and Tristan both punched him in the stomach and blood spurted out of Bakura's mouth.

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

"Ryou, he deserves it! He's somehow brainwashed you!"

"What? Are you stupid?"

"Yeah, if anything, the kid seduced Bakura!"

"What?"

Bakura released himself from his captors and grabbed Ryou's hand and they dashed off together, mounting the bike and speeding away.

"Oi! Get back here!"

The nine teenagers took off after the albinos.

"Shit! They're gone!"

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	6. Same Difference

**WARNINGS: Shounen-ai and rape (non-explicit.)**

_Malik's flashbacks are in italics._

**Same Difference**

Bakura pulled the cover off of the manhole and dropped himself in and then helped Ryou down – the bike had been left, well hidden a few miles away. All around them was sickly green water with lumps of God-knows-what floating past every now and again. Ryou shrieked as a huge black rat scurried over his foot; Bakura darted forward and covered his mouth with his hand.

"It's just a rat. Just a rat. Come on, koi."

When Ryou had finally calmed down, Bakura clenched his arm and cautiously pulled him along the giant pipe that was the sewer.

Soon, they arrived at a door and Bakura pulled out some keys and unlocked it. He sucked in a breath at what he saw inside: Yugi was sitting on Yami's lap and they were both fiercely lip locked and Yami's hands were under his lover's shirt.

"I knew it!"

Yugi whipped around and Yami clicked his neck as he moved it so fast. Rubbing his neck, the crimson eyed teen voiced his shock.

"Bakura! What the hell?"

"Yugi! You're all right!"

Ryou rushed over to Yugi and hugged him tightly. The boy in question winced and tried to cover his flinch by hugging Ryou back; Ryou noticed and pulled Yugi's shirt up to reveal his still weeping wounds.

"Yugi, we have to get a doctor for that!"

"What doctor would heal a participant in the war? Anyway I'm healing them with my magic."

Ryou didn't look convinced – if Yugi was healing himself properly, he would be fine by now, or at least the wounds would have closed – but he dropped it.

"So you and Yami are together then."

"You say that like you knew."

"Everyone knows that you like Yugi, Yami. Even the citizens."

Yami gave a blank look; and then.

"So, you and Bakura are together then?"

Ryou looked as though Yami shouldn't have known that fact before he noticed that he had subconsciously twined his fingers with the taller albino's.

"Oh, yeah."

Bakura had been glaring at Yami for all of the talking. "What was that call about, Yami?"

The teen was perplexed at the growling man. "Call?"

"Yes, that call you made about a building army. What the fuck? You make us think you're dead, killed by an army, and then piss off? Seto thinks it's the North!"

"Oh...That call."

"I'm going to tear you apart in a minute. Explain!"

Yami looked at Yugi, questioning. The boy sighed and spoke. "Well, this is what happened..."

* * *

"Are you okay, Malik?"

_A hand traveled up a pinned-to-a-wall Malik's bare leg._

"Malik?"

Malik merely flinched as a hand was placed on his shoulder.

_Blood poured down the alley wall as the Egyptian was pounded into the building behind him. Scratching, clawing, ripping._

"Malik! What's wrong? You've been staring at the floor for an hour!"

_His screams and cries for help were stopped by the attacker's hand that was clasped to his mouth._

The blonde slumped in his armchair, unconscious.

"Malik!"

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	7. A New Rival

**WARNING: Shounen-ai**

**A New Rival**

Across a grand table, covered from end to end in elegant platters of rich food and delicate glasses of red wine, sat guests, who were dining. At the very end, sat a well postured gentleman with long blue hair which was tied with a golden hoop low down his back. The man's different coloured eyes swept along the room's occupants, studying.

A humans body language can portray a window to it's soul. If one shifts their eyes every time they speak, one is a liar. If they, however, can look another strait in the eye, they are almost always a pure soul, who is truthful.

Looking at these people, Dartz could tell that not one of them was who he was looking for; not one was an element wielder. Also, not one of them was called Joseph Wheeler.

* * *

"Joey, are you going to eat all of that pizza?"

"Yes, why?"

It had been three weeks since the departure of Ryou and Bakura and everyone had finally accepted the fact that they were not going to participate in the war any more and after a letter was sent to both sides, they also accepted Yami – if he was still alive – and Yugi were neutral too.

Since both sides were whittled down to mere handful, a sort of unspoken ceasefire had commenced. No fighting means no casualties, so, a lot more room was opened in hospitals to treat sick citizens. Things were starting to turn back to how they were almost four years ago. The Kaiba and the Von Schroeder heirs, meaning Seto and Zigfried, had arranged a conference to discuss what would happen to controlling the city and that was why both the North and South Sides were in a room together, waiting for their leaders to come to an agreement.

"I still don't trust them."

"I know, Malik, but we have to if we have to join them." Duke shook his head and tapped the table impatiently. "This army has them worried. It took a damn lot for Kaiba to believe it isn't us."

"You're right, Duke, but still..."

Malik's voice faded out into nothing as the leaders entered the room from the elevator that was positioned at the head of the room.

"We have come to an agreement."

"Yes. Hir Kaiba and I have decided that we shall be partners in control and want no more of the fighting that our fathers started."

Seto merely grunted and motioned for his side to leave along with him. As Marik crossed Malik, he brushed him lightly, making the younger one blush brilliantly.

Joey was also blushing furiously when he noticed that Seto was glancing at him.

"Ahem. We should be going too, I think."

The North Side nodded in agreement to their leader and started to leave. Marik winked at Malik as they passed each other again.

* * *

As the North Side arrived at their HQ, the whole group split up strait away and closed themselves behind their bedroom doors.

Malik had noticed that Marik had placed a note in his hand: _Meet me at sunrise in the King's Kanoot._

Malik smirked. _Okay Marik, I'll meet you._

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	8. A Day Of Love

WARNING: Shounen-ai and sexual activities

**A Day Of Love**

It comes but once a year. A day of romance. A day of passion. A day of love. Valentines Day. The previous day had been tense. The meeting had everyone on tender hooks. Today, however, the veils of distrust had been uncovered.

Malik stood at the bar; it was already seven in the morning and Marik was still absent from the traditional looking pub. The young Egyptian looked up at the darkened beams on the ceiling and, as he looked down again, his gaze fell upon the taller blonde that he was so anxious to see.

"Ohayo, kirei Malik. You look happy to see me."

"You're late."

"Technically, I can't be late because I put no time on the note."

"You said sunrise, which was an hour ago."

Marik grinned.

"But you still waited."

Malik blushed; of course he had waited for Marik. How could he not?

"I merely wanted to see what you had to say."

"I don't want to _say_ anything."

Marik suddenly grasped Malik's hands and pulled them behind his back; effectively embracing the boy. Malik did not put up much of a struggle to this; his eyes merely widened.

"Dakishimetainoni."

If Malik's eyes could have widened more, they would have. Did Marik... No. He merely lusted to fuck something and Malik was today's something.

"Aishiteru, Malik."

Malik stood still, frozen. Slowly, he grinned. The tall blonde was taken aback by an abrupt whack in his chest which turned out to be the shorter of the two who had jumped into his arms and wrapped his legs around his waist.

"I knew it!"

"You did?"

"No, but I love you too!"

Marik grinned and pulled the other into a deep passionate kiss. Who said Valentines Day was a waste of time?

* * *

There had been a meeting set up that day for the two united sides but Zigfried could not attend; they sent Joey instead.

"Um... So, what would you like to discuss?"

"It's just about previous family conflicts; I obviously can't talk about that with you."

Joey looked crestfallen that the meeting had to end so soon.

"Oh. I guess I should go then."

"No! Wait!"

Seto lunged forward and grabbed at Joey's arm. He missed completely and toppled over. As the brunette fell, the blonde grabbed at him to stop him falling. He, however, ended up falling as well.

The two boys ended up on the floor, Seto somehow hovering over Joey, gazing into each others eyes. Sapphire into amber. The colours seemed to lose themselves within each other. Joey couldn't believe the usually collected man's lack of control. Why would he dart at him so suddenly...?

The brunette, unable to resist the temptation, leaned down and kissed the shorter boy. The boy in question froze. He soon melted into a blissful ecstasy that he was receiving from his first and only love. His virgin lips soon grew addicted to the feel of another pair, so he whined as they reluctantly pulled apart for air.

"I love you, puppy."

Joey smiled sweetly.

"I love you too. Even though you are an ass most of the time."

The brunette just smiled and resumed kissing **his **puppy.

* * *

Tristan had been extremely pissed when he was told he was on patrol on Valentines Day. Even more so when he was told he would be with that idiotic, irresponsible, irresistible, sexy baka: Duke.

The raven haired man in question was leaning against a wall twirling his finger around in his pony tail.

Said man was talking, but, damn it all, Tristan was too busy watching his object of affections twirl his finger in an unknowingly sexy way.

"What do you think?"

"Wha-?"

The fingers stopped their twirling motion.

"About the citizens. Don't you think that they're settling down a little too quickly?"

"Oh! Yeah."

"Are you all right? You look dreadfully pale."

Duke came forward and placed the back of his hand on Tristan's forehead, making said teen blush.

"I-I'm fine."

The boy with black hair leaned in and whispered in the brunette's ear.

"Then why do you have a hard-on?"

Tristan blushed like a beacon as Duke placed his lips on the taller boy's.

"We should spread the love on V-Day."

* * *

"Brother, are you all right in there? You sound in pain."

"_Gasp..._I-I'm fine, Zigfried!"

"Okay...I'm going out. I shall be back in a few hours."

"Okay! Bye-bye!" The words were forced and fast, almost willing his brother to leave.

When the door banged, signaling Zigfried's departure, Leon breathed a sigh.

"Mokuba! You carried on even when my brother was there!"

"It's more fun that way."

The raven haired boy grinned and carried on attacking Leon's neck with kisses, making the boy in question gasp and pant.

"Mokuba..."

"Hmm?"

"I-I want..." The boy blushed. "More! Please, more!"

Mokuba grinned and glided his hands to Leon's trousers and unbuttoned them. He pushed the boy to the bed in a sitting position and knelt in-between his spread legs. He pulled at the offending material; effectively pulling both his trousers and boxers down in the same move.

Mokuba gently grasped the flesh that screamed for attention and kissed the weeping tip, causing its owner to groan.

"Mokuba!"

Said boy relaxed his throat muscles and deep throated the boy, hard and fast. Leon screamed in ecstasy. His muscles in his stomach started to clench and his head became light. Leon buried his hands into the raven hair below him and started to thrust into the other boy's mouth.

"Mokuba! I'm going to...!"

The sentence was cut off because he did as he was warning. The pressure in his gut released itself into his lover's mouth.

Mokuba swallowed Leon's essence and moved up to kiss the sweating and heavily panting boy.

"That was unbelievable."

The pink haired boy gasped. The other smiled.

"I love you. Happy Valentines day."

"I love you too."

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	9. Sign Into Servitude

**Sign Into Servitude**

The cold, damp February mist still made breath fog up and cling to the air and linger like an icy spider's web. The crystals of ice crunched on the grass as they were depressed by heavy hooves of a proud black horse. On the horse was a tall man with blue hair. This man was named Dartz.

"Master Dartz, are you sure you need him? Why are we not good enough for this plan?"

"You are not connected to Joseph. Plus I need fresh blood."

Dartz's minions shivered; their master's element was the most terrifying of them all: Blood. Dartz could boil one's blood with a snap of his fingers or spill ones life fluid like a fountain.

"Gather the one that I have chosen in the mansion. Tell him we are to discuss a contract he once signed. He will listen."

The men in black robes nodded in a union; no-one dared disobey Dartz. They all remembered the last person who did. He broke the contract that Dartz gave him. His name was Yugi.

* * *

"Yugi, why must you go alone? Who is this 'Master of Darkness', anyway? He doesn't sound very trustworthy."

"Ryou, it's perfectly all right. As for who he is...it's a long story – part of the one I told you the night you came here. I need to fulfill a promise I made to him a long time ago."

Ryou looked uncertain, but he couldn't go on because Yami and Bakura walked in and Yugi didn't want anyone else to know about the meeting he had been called to.

"Aibou, we have to return to the others. We have run out of food and I'm sure they've calmed down by now."

"You're right."

Yugi couldn't wait to be able to leave the company of Bakura.

* * *

The two groups relocated to South Side HQ because it was the largest. The door banged and Mokuba answered it cautiously.

"Yami! Bakura!"

"What? They're back?"

The four in the doorway were pushed into the living room and Ryou and Yugi were pulled away by the South Side.

"Yug'! Are you all right? Ryou?"

"We're fine, Joey!"

The rest of the night was spent on catching up. Yugi thought about the meeting that was being held tomorrow.

"Yugi, I must insist on coming with you."

"Yami, please! I have to go on my own!"

Everyone backed away from him and he called Ryou forward and whispered to him.

"Make sure no-one follows me."

Ryou nodded and backed away as Yugi mounted his motorcycle and sped off towards Dartz's mansion.

* * *

"My dear Yugi, you had us all in a big muddle. You see, the contract you signed stated that you cannot leave our master's servitude unless you were dead. Funny thing is that we all saw the explosion just after you entered that building so we all thought you were turning up the daisies."

"Shut up, Valon."

"Why do your friends think you are so sweet? You've always been a cocky little bastard."

"Valon, Alister, Raphael. I needed to talk to our former ally, not persecute him.

The three that were blocking Yugi let him past and pushed him into a seat that was opposite Dartz.

"So, Yugi. You are now back in my service?"

Yugi nodded.

"I am, Master Dartz."

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	10. Past Dealings

**Past Dealings**

"Yugi has been gone a couple of hours; maybe we should check on him."

"No, Tristan. He has to go on his own."

"What do you know that we don't, Ryou?"

"Where he's gone and why. I'm not allowed to tell you though. He said he'd be back tomorrow, sometime."

Tristan huffed and went back to the corner to talk to Duke.

* * *

"So, Yugi, are you going to help with our little raid?"

"Of course."

Valon smirked and beckoned all of the other followers on their motorcycles, including Yugi. The group motored towards the heart of Domino...

* * *

"Hey, guys! We have a call out! Some motorcycle gang is attacking Domino!"

"Off we go, men! Wow, this is our first joint mission!"

The twelve teenagers nodded and made their way to their own motorcycles – maybe this was the beginning of the army!

When the teens arrived they were hit with a wave of shock: the citizens were running around screaming; all desperately trying to get away from the five in the middle. They all recognised them all: Dartz, the most powerful element wielder; Valon, wielding lightning; Raphael, of water; Alister, of fire and... Yugi.

"Yugi! What the hell? You bastards! You took Yugi, didn't you?!"

"No, Joey. They didn't take me. I came on my own free will!"

Joey stood aghast: Yugi hated Dartz and all he stood for!

"Yugi! Dartz killed your parents, he tortured you, he even tried to kill you! Has the past suddenly disappeared?"

The other eleven men stared, only Joey had known Yugi since they were children and neither of the boys ever talked about their past.

"Wrong! I joined Dartz way before I knew you, he saved me!"

"Yugi, how can you say that after all he did to us?"

"Don't act innocent! You signed up, too. That's why he has been looking for you! To tell you that your service is up. And mine...has...started again..."

"What?! Dartz, you evil bastard! You can't keep Yugi for eight more years!"

"I am not keeping him for eight years. The second signing is a lifetime servitude!"

Joey looked as though he wanted to vomit; he remembered the days with Dartz, the murder and torturing they had to commit.

Valon came out from a building that he had disappeared to during the dialogue.

"It's set." Valon paled,"Oh no! I left the cash in there!"

"I'll get it."

Yugi dashed off.

"Yugi! It's set to go in thirty seconds!"

"I'll get it!"

Yugi ran in and grabbed the briefcase. On the way out he caught his led on a broken pain of glass.

"My leg!"

The small boy threw the briefcase to Alister and started to struggle with his leg. As Yami started forward... BANG!

"YUGI!"

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	11. I Did It For You

**WARNING: Shounen-ai and Lemon**

_Malik's flashbacks are in italics._

**I Did It For You**

The building before the teens exploded outwards, knocking them to the ground. Thousands of sparkling fragments of glass littered the ground around them. When the smoke cleared, the building had been turned to rubble.

Under a large boulder of wreckage, an arm peeked out. The arm was covered in blood and was limp and unmoving.

"Yugi!"

Yami darted forward and dropped to his knees by the rubble around the arm, digging furiously. Hot tears flooded down his face as he frantically threw rocks to the side, calling his little lover's name.

The rest of the boys simply stared at Yami's panic attack; they had accepted that no-one could survive a blast like that. No-one.

Dartz smirked and turned.

"My work is done."

"What? Master Dartz, we must help him!"

"Why, Valon? I thought you did not care for family."

"Of course I care about him! He is my brother!"

The others glued their eyes on Valon. Yugi rarely talked about his family other than his grandfather. Joey knew that Dartz's gang killed Yugi's parents, but he had assumed that Yugi was their only child.

"Does it matter? Help me get Yugi out!"

Valon glared at Dartz and ran to Yami, also dropping to his knees and pulling rocks away. The others took this as a signal and followed the two boys and started to dig.

Dartz merely turned and left, followed by Raphael and Alister.

Valon doubled over in pain and screamed. Leon jumped up.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine. It's just what happens when you breach Dartz's rules."

"What?"

"Slow termination." Leon looked disgusted. "My brother is much more important. Anyway, I'll go back to him after. Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Yugi about me being his brother."

"He doesn't know?"

"He knew he had a brother. Dartz just convinced him that I died with his parents. That's why Yugi is with us: he's fulfilling his brother's debt of years of servitude. In actual fact, his brother is repaying his own debt. Dartz swore to kill him if I told."

The arm twitched beneath the rubble and a green light flooded down it. The boulders lifted and exploded, landing far away from anyone. A blood coated, distorted and green-glowing Yugi was revealed. Slowly, Yugi's bones snapped back into place; his blood rushed back into his body; cuts and gashes sealed themselves back up; chest started to rise and fall again. Most importantly, his heart stared hammering again as his eyes snapped open. He took a sudden deep breath and flew into a sitting position.

Yami froze, along with the rest of the boys. Soon, however, Yami had flew his arms around his look-alike's neck; sobbing heavily.

"I thought you were...!"

Yugi nodded, wrapping his arms around Yami's back.

"I-I did, too. I think I know what my power does, now."

Everyone but Yami and Yugi glanced at Valon; Yugi had no clue that his brother lived or that he had no debt to repay.

"I want to go home."

Yami nodded and helped Yugi to stand. The smaller of the boys screamed and gripped onto Yami to stop himself falling.

"I can't walk!"

"I'm not surprised. Here, I'll carry you."

Yugi let himself get carried by his lover and fell unconscious in his arms. Valon turned and walked away, clutching his stomach.

* * *

"Mmmm... Marik!"

It was a day after the explosion; Yugi was still unconscious and Yami was still by his side. Malik and Marik needed to find comfort in one another; Malik was pinned to his lover's bedroom wall.

Marik was ravishing his little lover's neck and grinding their hips together, making the smaller blonde groan the taller's name like a mantra. Marik was enchanted with the way that Malik's head lolled back to give him more access; the way his name fell from those luscious, pink and parted lips; the way he rocked against him in a rhythm that practically screamed submission.

Malik's fingers fluttered up to Marik's chin to pull his lips into a passionate kiss whilst his legs wrapped around his waist.

"Malik, I'm going to come if you don't let up!"

Malik smirked evilly.

"I know."

Malik slowed down his grinding; teasing Marik to groaning.

"Oh, ho! Two can play at that game!"

Marik grabbed Malik and pushed him gently onto the floor. He spread the one beneath him's legs and crouched over his lover's hips. He slowly rubbed his palm gently over the jeaned crotch that had slowly got harder over their last activity. Soon the younger one was gripping his lover's hair tightly; his face flushed and his throat giving out throaty moans.

"Marik!"

"Hm?"

"Stop...teasing!"

"Oh? But that's half the fun."

Marik lowered his head and slowly licked the clothed area.

"Marik!"

His little lover sounded frustrated by now; time to stop teasing. He ground his body up Malik's to crash their lips together.

Malik had had enough of the teasing strokes and gestures and fiddled with the buttons to his and Marik's jeans; freeing their bodies. He then unbuttoned his own shirt a pulled it off and when the boys parted for air, pulled Marik's shirt over his head.

"A little impatient?"

"A little."

The two nude teens took in each other's bodies and marveled at the fact that they were so different underneath the layers of clothing that they usually donned. Malik was slim and curvy, like a model. Marik, however, was built with strong muscles and was plainly shaped.

Marik wet his fingers with his own saliva and pushed a digit into his lover, making him moan. The smaller pulled the taller into crushing kiss to drown his pleasured sounds; he didn't want to wake anyone in the house. The digit slid in and out a few times before adding another, making the one below hiss in slight pain, before whimpering and thrusting slightly back on the intruding fingers.

Marik pulled out his fingers, earning him a unfulfilled whimper from Malik. Soon, a muffled scream was passed between their lips, as Marik slowly entered his lover. When he was buried to the hilt, he paused, waiting for Malik to adjust. Soon, Malik was thrusting against him, triggering him to move, which he did.

Moans and groans were escaping from Malik and, from Marik, growls and pants.

"_Aww... Ickle Malik. Are you scared?"_

"_P-please! Please don't hurt me!"_

"_I'm afraid I have to."_

Malik froze; he allowed his lover to do as he pleased just has he let _him_. Marik noticed Malik's sudden lack of interest. He moved his hand to caress Malik's feverish cheek; Malik remained frozen.

"Malik? What's wrong?"

Malik whimpered and shook his head. He remembered what they were doing: it was not _him_, it was his koi. This time was for pleasure not pain.

"N-nothing." Malik gathered some more courage,"Nothing. I'm fine, koi."

Marik smiled gently and kissed his love's lips and began to thrust again. They were both close; a tight, heated sensation was pooling through both of their lower abdomens.

Marik was eager to see Malik climax; it was not every day you took someone's first.

Marik reached between them and started to pump Malik, bringing him over the edge.

Malik clawed his lover's back as the tightness in his lower area was released with a muffled shout of pleasure; Malik's climax had made the boy tighten, triggering Marik's climax. They were both lip locked as their fluids of passion spilled within or over the bodies.

Panting, Marik pulled out and lay beside Malik, exhausted. Neither talking to make a comfortable silence. Once Marik had the strength, he carried Malik over to the large, queen sized bed and pulled the cover over them.

"Aishteru, Malik."

"I love you, too, koi."

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	12. Nightmare In Domino

**WARNING: Implied rape!**

(The parts that are not the dream are inside brackets)

**Nightmare In Domino**

The tunnel was like a large pipe; it was round, dark and damp. Malik had to bend over to be able to fit in the space that was the sewer. His ears were his only way of direction and the only things to hear were his frantic breathing, scurried footfalls that were not his and the occasional drip of some unknown liquid. The footsteps echoed around the dark space and had no obvious source. As the breath escaped him, it was quickly drawn back as he entered the outer chamber of some sort of large maze.

Around the room were hooks and chains that bore bodies; bloody, mangled, decapitated bodies. Malik's stomach turned at the sight and flew to his throat. He shoved his fist in his mouth to stop himself from losing whatever lay in his stomach.

What kind of sick person made this mess?

As Malik made his way across the shadowed ground, crunches and snaps were heard. He couldn't see what it was but he had an idea. To the left was a huge doorway and Malik turned and headed towards it. As he reached it, he realised that the twists and twirls that he thought were decoration, appeared to be blood; it oozed down the woodwork and caught on splinters and bumps, making it look like a pattern.

As the young Egyptian approached the door with his face twisted in disgust, a handle materialised through the middle and started to turn on its own accord. It swung open and cast a dim, eerie light on Malik. Somehow, the light was still too bright to make out what was in the inner chamber, so the teen slowly entered the mesmorising room.

The room was empty, save for a table in the centre of the room. The fire torches cast the only source of light that flickered and sparked across the rough and crumbling stone walls and floor. The room was circular and had many doors surrounding the chamber.

Malik looked around the chamber in wonder. _Where have I seen this room before?_

(_"Malik? Malik! Wake up!"_

_Marik jumped up and awoke the whole house and they all went around Malik's bedside._

"_Yami! Something is wrong with him!"_)

Each door was marked in various Roman numerals; the door to the left of him was 'I' and to the right, 'XII'. The twelve doors in-front of him were made of similarly marked wood with different colours of liquid oozing down each of the separate faces. The one behind him seemed to be the only real one, since the others seemed to waver and fade; but they became solid and firm also.

There was a loud commotion at the door marked 'IV', involving a deep, crackly man's voice and a small boy's terrified shrieks. Malik's head snapped towards the disturbance and drew in his breath as a gasp. The two were so familiar, like out of a dream; a long forgotten dream. The man was tall and concealed in a long brown cloak that covered his face, so Malik couldn't see if he knew the man.

The boy however could easily be recognised; the screaming, crying and begging boy was hardly even four years old, by appearance. He had ear length bleach-blonde hair and bright lavender eyes that were clouded by tears. His eyes were thickly lined in kohl and underneath his eyes, a thin tattoo ran from the outer corner of his eyes and ran down to just beneath his ears. _That's... me?_

"Please! Daddy! Stop!"

"Aww... Ickle Malik. Are you scared?"

"P-please! Please don't hurt me!"

"I'm afraid I have to."

The man took the young Malik and threw the boy's robe off, leaving him bare, before placing him roughly on the stone table and then grabbing the chains on each of the corners of it. He wrapped and locked each of them on each limb of the helpless and struggling boy.

"Daddy! Please!"

The man ignored him and started to remove his own robe, except his head wrap and crawled on top of the screaming and whimpering child.

The elder Malik watched in horror as the deed was carried out. He tried to shout, but his lips remained sealed, he tried to run and pull the perverted bastard off of his 'other self', but his feet remained on the spot where he stood. He soon came to realise that he was crying; salty tears licked at his cheeks and stuck to his eyelashes. _Please, God. Don't make me relive it. Please. _He dropped to his knees as the sobs shook his weakened body. He'd remembered it in different ways; against walls in alleys, temples, dungeons; on stone tables, cold and hard and rough. Never one way or place, but this seemed solid. _Real_.

Screams echoed around the chamber and every bruise, cut and tear that the younger boy suffered, the elder Malik felt ten times amplified.

(_Malik's face glistened with tears as he arched his back and thrashed around in his love's embrace. Marik was also in tears as he saw the anguish that his koi was going through; it hurt, it burned at his heart and tore at his soul._

"_Please wake up, Malik! Please!"_

_The other teens that surrounded them watched with compassion framing their features; whatever was wrong with Malik, it was bad._)

When the man had finished the... act, he pulled out and put his robe back on. He glared down at his son with malice.

"You do not deserve the Ishtar name. You cry and whimper like the coward you are."

With that, he left through the door marked 'V', leaving young Malik chained to the stone table, crying, bleeding and... praying. Elder Malik's frozen state lifted and he shot to his younger self's side, pulling at he chains.

"Don't worry, I'll have you out of here as quick as I can!"

The younger boy's head darted to the moving chains and floating voice. In other words he looked petrified.

"W-who's there?"

Malik frowned and stopped pulling at the binds.

"You can't see me?"

Young Malik shook his head, staring to the left of where he was.

"Don't worry, you can trust me."

(_"Bakura, call a doctor!"_

_Bakura nodded and turned out of the room to go downstairs. After ten minutes of nothing but watching Malik thrash and cry out, Bakura returned._

"_He'll be here in twenty minutes."_)

Before Malik could get the small boy out of the chains, he faded into the stone below them and the chains slithered away and rusted as if it were water. The door marked 'X' opened wide and revealed the same dim but bright light as it creaked on its hinges. This door had purple liquid running down it. Malik approached the door and stepped over the boundary, entering the last chamber of the 'maze'.

The room had only one light that was cast by a candle which was in the grasp of a twelve year old Malik. The boy was sitting on the floor in the corner, clutching himself tightly; tears cascading down his cheeks; blood staining his hands and robe. He was rocking himself and muttering phrases that were not legible to the elder Malik. On the floor, by the boy's foot, was a dagger, drenched in blood. Finally, Malik was able to understand the boy.

"Oh, God! I-I killed him! But he deserved it! Look at what he did to me! But he is still my father! And I am still his son!"

Malik blinked at the boy's mental argument. _I- remember... _Suddenly, Malik remembered everything that was lost in a car accident at the age of fourteen and it was horrible; the blood, the torment, the torture... the murder, the rape, the guilt. Malik's screwed up memories and dreams always came to this room eventually, but never before had he remembered any of it. Until now.

(_Ryou came running into the room with the doctor at his heels. As soon as the man saw the sweating, crying and thrashing being that was Malik, he called up his team and ordered them to bring an ambulance to transport Malik to the hospital so they can keep an eye on him._

_Marik panicked. "W-what do you mean ambulance? Can't you just wake him up or something?"_

_The doctor shook his head. "If we woke him up so suddenly, it would cause his brain to practically implode. The shock could even kill him."_

_Marik whimpered as the paramedics lifted his lover gently off of the bed and carried him down to the ambulance. When they arrived at hospital, Malik was deemed an 'Emergency Case' meaning he got taken straight to a single room and was placed in his bed. His state was named after the doctors had taken tests; comatose._)

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	13. Denial

**Denial**

It had been a week. A week of waiting. A week of praying. Malik was still in a coma and Yugi and Joey still kept their lips sealed about what had happened. Everyone knew that the two boys' pasts had some sort of link with what was happening to Malik. Yugi still had no idea that his brother was still alive and had gone back to Dartz to fulfill his 'debt'; no-one could tell him that there was no debt because that would involve telling Yugi about Valon. The boy came back to them at night so he could sleep, but he spent the days with Dartz's gang doing who-knows-what. They had no idea because he was forbidden tell anyone.

It was Sunday and Marik had finally left the hospital because he realised that Malik wouldn't wake up any time soon, if at all. All of the boys were gathered in the living room waiting for Yugi to come through the door. When they heard the door slam, they looked up, as a blood covered, clothes torn and limping Yugi walked in and dropped into Yami's lap hugging the teen tightly as if he had seen death. No-one questioned Yugi because that was the state he was usually in when he returned. They were not prepared for what Joey said though.

"So who did you murder today?"

"Another guy who didn't deserve it."

"Ah, the 'good' old days."

Both boys spoke in a monotone without any humour. Yugi suddenly broke out in tears as he screamed and clutched his stomach. Yami grabbed hold of his lover.

"Yugi! What's wrong?"

"I breached Dartz's rules!"

Yami look away; he hated the fact that Yugi was tortured every day by being forced to do such evil deeds and he couldn't do a thing. Joey spoke again.

"You do realise that your parents died this way."

Yugi flinched and nodded.

"I know. As did my brother."

Everyone looked away at that and Yugi got suspicious.

"You do that every time I mention him. What do you know that I don't?"

Again, Joey answered him.

"You're not as alone as you think."

"What do you mean?"

"You see your brother every day."

Yugi shook his head.

"That's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be. Your brother is always with you."

Yugi jumped up and turned to face Joey; his face red with anger.

"Just shut the fuck up! My brother is dead! Dead! Just like the rest of my family! DEAD!"

Yugi had tears cascading down his cheeks as he limped as fast as he could out the room and into his and Yami's shared room. Yami stood to follow him but Joey stopped him.

"Don't. Yugi has always been like this. If something like that comes up, he goes into extreme denial."

Yami looked at the stairwell forlornly, but he sat back down. Then Bakura spoke out.

"What did you use to do under Dartz?"

Joey looked away as if he was not going to answer, but he looked back and showed them all his wrists, which had slashes across them, making the others in the room widen their eyes.

"Servitude with Dartz goes on so much longer that the murdering and torturing other people. He likes to... experiment. Even after your signing is up, you have nightmares. Horrible nightmares. He likes to plant marks and memories into his followers minds that make them... suicidal. After I got told that my servitude was up, mine started. As you can see, it worked."

* * *

Please R&R .. x


	14. Coming Together

**Wow...it's been 3 years since I updated this story...I'm so sorry! I was going to discontinue it but all of the reviews that I got and my innate desire to write made me itch to finish the story – it's going to be finished by chapter 20, but they're going to be better quality chapters and the plot is all going to start making sense...let's see what I can do. Enjoy!**

**1wildrose1 .. x**

_**Coming Together**_

It made no sense. All of these events seemed so random and, yet, they had to be linked. Ryou frowned as he contemplated the past few days. The phone call from Yami about an army being built – a fact that had been cast aside in light of recent events; the simultaneous abandonment from the war by Yami, Yugi, Bakura and himself – even now, he could not say why he had so willingly gone off with Bakura; the discovery of Yugi's contract with Dartz – why had he gone with him so willingly?; Malik's sudden coma – there had been no warning; and the fact that nobody was willing to tell Yugi about his brother – though Valon had made it clear that Dartz said he would kill Yugi if he found out, it still was not clear why he was so determined to keep Yugi from knowing. The whole thing made Ryou's head hurt.

On top of that, the North and South sides seemed to accept each other so quickly that it made him suspicious. These were the same people that kidnapped his friend and tortured him – they murdered Solomon Motou for God's sake! Yet Ryou couldn't bring himself to care. He could not hate them no-matter how often he reminded himself of their deeds. That fact alone made him believe that something awfully wrong was going on.

He was sitting beside Malik's hospital bed, staring down at his friend's face, having to peer between the various wires that was keeping him alive. "What's going on, Malik? How does all of this come together?"

He cast his mind back to a few days previous, to the night when Joey finally revealed the details of his own service to Dartz, allowing them to guess at what Yugi was being forced to do. The blond had revealed his scars – which ran up his wrists and arms, spreading across his chest and down his back. He had told them all the stories of his sordid past; about how Dartz made him dissect people while they were still living, or how he had to burn women and children in their own homes because their brothers or fathers or husbands had refused to join Dartz's cause.

He had told them about how Dartz didn't like getting his own hands dirty – he preferred to sit back and watch – but every so often he stepped in. Joey couldn't bring himself to discuss exactly what he had witnessed when Dartz used his powers, but by the look on his face – the fear in his eyes – they knew it was too terrible for words. From what Joey remembered, Dartz had never taken his contracts too seriously – if someone breeched a contract, he would just have them killed. He had never gone after anyone specifically to sign them back up, as he had done with Yugi. He also found it hard to believe that he was only looking for Joey to tell him that his contract was up.

Ryou sighed and stroked Malik's hair slowly. "I don't know what to do. Yugi has been acting so weird. It's like he's getting worse since you fell ill."

That was an understatement if he had ever heard one. Yugi went off the rails dramatically, getting worse and worse the longer Malik remained unconscious. He began by freaking out at every mention of Dartz, then he couldn't be in the same room as Joey because he reminded him of what he had to do. After a few days, he stopped talking to everyone, even Yami – instead, he stayed out of the house as long as possible and, when he did return, he skulked about in the emptiest room, avoiding all human contact. He point blank refused to return home for the last few days.

"I've got to figure this out." Ryou frowned, still talking to the lifeless form of his friend. "I feel like if I find out how this is all linked, then it'll all be better."

His mind reeled as he went over the facts once again. "There's something missing – something were not seeing. Maybe if we find out what it is, it'll all make sense."

He looked at his watch and sighed as he realised how late it was getting. "I've got to get back to the house – the big boss-men have decided that we're all children and must be given a curfew. It's pathetic, but what can you do?" He stood and gathered his coat and bag. "I'll see you tomorrow, Malik. Hopefully I'll have more news."

The car park, situated beneath the hospital, was very poorly lit – the few panel-lights that worked flickered ominously. Ryou sighed as he made his way to where he parked his motorbike, pulling out his keys as he went. He couldn't really blame the hospital for the bad state of the building – it was he and the other fighters that had put it in this state. In the early stages of the war, they had brought Duke here after he had been injured – the South Side followed them here, to the basement, and a huge battle ensued. It was after that that participants of the war were refused treatment from the hospitals.

"What the fuck?" His bike was gone. He definitely parked here – he remembered being next to the burnt out shell of a Mini Cooper. He was instantly on guard; someone was here. Petty thefts didn't just happen in Domino. "Dartz?"

"Oh, quick on the uptake." Ryou jerked around at the gruff voice, nerves like live wires. "But not quite. It's only me here."

"Raphael." Ryou recognised the burly blond instantly. He had a snide grin on his face, eyes menacingly narrow. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much." He stepped closer to Ryou, to which Ryou responded with an equal step backwards. "Dartz finds you fascinating."

"Really? And why would that be?" For every step Raphael took, Ryou mirrored it backwards. Eventually, he ended up with his back to the decrepit basement wall behind him with the malicious blond man only a few feet away from him.

"He thinks that you're smart, that you would be a valuable asset to his cause." He stepped right up to him. Ryou weighed out his odds on a one on one fight – physically, Raphael had the advantage, being so tall and muscular. He towered over Ryou's skinny frame. Both of their elements were water, also, so he had no leverage there either. "He sent me to extend the hand of friendship. Join our cause and we'll let you live."

The white-haired teen scowled at the proposal. "I'd rather die."

The large man chuckled at his words. "He knew you would." He leaned down to whisper into Ryou's ear, nibbling his earlobe lewdly. "That's why he told me to make sure that you understood that by saying that 'we'll let _you_ live', he means that he will not kill you and everyone that you hold dear. I heard that poison can do a lot of damage to someone when their IV drip is spiked with it. Isn't your friend just upstairs in a coma?"

"You bastard!" He shoved against Raphael's intruding body with all of his strength, failing miserably. "If you touch one hair on his head...!"

"You'll what?" He barked with laughter and pulled his hair hard, exposing his neck. "That's just a taste of what he is prepared to do."

Ryou breathed heavily, trying desperately not to panic. _There's got to be a solution..._ "Why does he want me so much?"

"I've already told you, Ryou." He didn't like the way his name oozed out of Raphael's mouth – it sounded almost like a threat, an innuendo of a threat. "He thinks that you're smart. He likes your mind – you're the only one whose put everything together. No one else has even considered that your little friend Yugi was lying about our reasons for looking for Joey. You would be be highly useful."

Ryou's eyes widened as he started to scrape his teeth across the delicate skin of his throat. "H-how did you know that I thought that?"

"Hmm." He hummed against his neck. "You suspected our involvement with the 'illness' of your friend upstairs, did you not? I would have thought that you would be more careful with what you say around him when we're watching him so closely."

Ryou tightened his jaw in defiance. Of course! How could he have been so careless? He just missed Malik so much and needed to talk to him, to keep himself sane – he hadn't even considered that Dartz would be listening in. But it seemed so obvious now...

"Oh? Not talking now?" The blond bared his teeth and bit his collarbone harshly, breaking the skin, causing Ryou to cry out in pain. "That's better. I was enjoying our little conversation. You can't go all quiet on me."

Ryou sniffed sharply and winced as Raphael let go of his hair to grab his jaw, slamming his head against the stone. He tried to turn his head but Raphael held tight, crushing his lips to his own in a painful excuse for a kiss.

"Don't worry, little Ryou." He squirmed once again at the sound of his name on that man's lips – it sounded _wrong_. "You don't have to make a decision just yet. Dartz wants to see you in person."

"Where's my bike?" Raphael frowned at the question, genuinely not expecting it.

"That's what you're thinking about?" He chuckled at the hostile glare he received. "Don't worry – Alister just wanted to take it for a spin."

With that, Raphael threw Ryou to the ground harshly, pulling out some rope. "Hands together, princess." Ryou sighed and obeyed the order – what else could he do? His hands were bound by the rough material behind his back, before he was pulled to his feet and tossed into the back of a dark van – his face smacking into one of the metal benches on either side as he fell to the floor once again, this time without his hands to break his fall. "Ouch. Bet that one hurt."

Ryou moaned in pain as he rolled over, onto his back. The door slammed, leaving him alone in the cavernous space. His jaw throbbed where he impacted with the bench – he could already feel the bruises forming cross his mouth and taste the blood from where his lip must have split; his teeth felt weak when he closed them together. "Shit..."

His was glad that he was laying down because he was sure that he would not be able to keep himself upright due to the amount of collisions his head had suffered. He could sense himself start to panic – his breath came in short gasps, his palms became slick with sweat and blood from where the rope tore at his skin. But he couldn't comprehend the panic in his mind – he was just so detached and unresponsive. He knew then that consciousness was slipping away from him.

For over an hour he remained in this half-aware state, neither awake nor sleeping. The pain had became too much a while back, causing his brain to numb his body from all feeling. The few coherent thoughts he had consisted of wondering where he was being taken and praying to a God that he didn't believe in that Malik and the others were safe. Praying that they didn't know about him and Bakura, because he would sure be used against him.

Suddenly the noise of the engine stopped and Ryou prepared himself to be manhandled once again. But then shouts could be heard coming from outside the truck and from where Raphael would be sat when he was driving. The doors to the space he was being kept rattled and screamed from the impact of something large being repeatedly hurled against them.

The van started up again – it drove faster than it did before. They were being chased.

The twists and turns of the road were met with violent haste, making Ryou slide and bounce around on the floor, hitting the different walls and benches, slicing his skin on the sharp edges of the various objects hidden in the dark.

A particularly loud _bang!_ sounded as something else collided with the vehicle, sending it into a spin.

Screams. Metallic screeching. His name. Weightlessness. Impact. Unconsciousness.


	15. Falling Apart

**Just had a really bad week :( Need to write – de-stress. Good thing that this is an angsty chapter anyway or we'd all be in for a plot ruining one. Enjoy!**

**1wildrose1 .. x**

**Warning: Character Death**

_**Falling Apart**_

_**Ryou's POV**_

I'd never felt pain like it. It spread all through my body – I didn't even know what hurt or where or think of what caused it. The moments of unconsciousness that I was gifted with lasted precious few minutes – then I awoke to the agony, the blackness, the screams. What they were screaming, I don't know, but they carried a desperate message. Whoever 'they' were.

All I could see – as I blinked blood out from my eyes – was condensed metal pressing in from all sides, restricting my already shallow breathing. The smell of brine and metallic dust assaulted my senses – _I'm at the beach?_ My incoherent mind couldn't piece any of it together.

Why did my arm feel so numb? My head was held between two indistinguishable objects – or were they the walls squashed together? – facing the opposite way so I couldn't check, but...I broke my arm? Maybe. I didn't know.

My head was getting light – I could hardly breathe. Every time I inhaled it felt like I was being ripped inside out – the air tasted like copper.

* * *

_**Normal POV**_

Bakura practically jumped over the cliff after the van, but was stopped by a shell-shocked Marik who had to use all his strength to keep his friend from diving to his death. "Ryou!" He was hysterical. "Fuck...I...shit...Ryou!"

"Bakura." Duke climbed over the lip of the cliff, using his power over stone to mould makeshift steps down to the cobble beach below. "Man, pull yourself together and come on."

The white-haired teen leaped ahead, only halting to allow Duke to create more stairs. He froze at the sight of the wreckage – at the top, it looked like a shapeless dark blur, but now that he was closer he could see the real damage. The van had landed on top of a mass of boulders at the foot of the drop, crushing the side it laid on to a pulp. The entire driver's cab was gone, leaving only bloody glass and fragments of engine. The places where their spells had hit were charred and twisted – Bakura cursed himself again for being the one to send the van into a spin. They were just trying to make Raphael stop after the three of them – having been the only ones on patrol in that area – overheard him talk on the phone about having Ryou once he'd stopped the van – some kind of drop off point. They didn't anticipate the sudden corner – or the sharp drop.

Bakura let out a harsh sob and bounded the rest of the way down, ignoring the fact that Duke hadn't made footholds for the last few feet and, instead, skidded down nearly vertical stone faces. He began to pull at what remained of the back doors – now lying on their side – soon prising them open when Duke and Marik arrived to help. The interior was now nothing more that a crawlspace – all jagged metal and shattered benches.

They couldn't even see Ryou.

Bakura darted in, contorting his body around the collapsed walls and debris, desperate to reach his lover. He squeezed through a particularly small space near the middle, which had been condensed to a mere gap that only Bakura – being much slimmer than Marik and much stronger than Duke – could haul himself through.

Then he could see him.

"Bakura!" Marik called from where he was on the other side. "Can you see him?"

All he got in reply was a hoarse. "Ryou..." There in the distorted metal was Ryou's small form – the wall wound round his right half, pinning his body in place, cutting through his skin in bloody rivets. His face was masked in blood and bruises. His visible limbs stuck out in harsh angles, gushing with ever more blood in the places where bone had sliced clear through his skin. Even still, his eyes were open – albeit glassy and almost lifeless – and he was breathing shallow breaths.

Bakura approached cautiously, positioning his face in front of Ryou's – careful not to touch his abused body – willing him to recognise him. "Ryou? I'm here. It's going to be okay. You're okay." Ryou's eyes drifted across Bakura's face, trying to see. Bakura dipped his face lower to the younger boy, hearing the wet sounds of his strained breathing. From this angle, he could see underneath the folded metal pinning Ryou in place – except, it was literally _pinning_ him. Daggers of wall cut through his shoulder, ribs and stomach, practically severing his arm.

The older of the two bit back bile and tried to hold back the tears that so desperately wanted to escape. It was at that moment that he finally got it into his head – Ryou was going to die. Because of him. Because of his spells. Because of his want to protect him. Irony was a bitter feeling.

Bakura couldn't help but feel like this could be his last moment with his love – the only one in the world he'd shown his true self to. The other half of his soul. "I love you, Ry-Ry." He leaned closer still, placing a feather-light kiss to his forehead, so as to not restrict his breathing further. Even there he could taste blood – it was consuming Ryou like a plague, leaving even his pure white hair tinted in red. How much blood had he lost already? Too much to measure.

Bakura crouched over him for a while, ignoring the worried calls from Duke and Marik. At some point his cheeks became wet and his breath came in gasps as he delved further and further into hysteria.

Then he was being pulled out of the wreckage by arms stronger than his own, despite his desperation to stay beside his lover. The sudden bright lights of the outside world stung his eyes after being in the darkness for what he felt was so long. Flashing blue lights lit the area – ambulances, fire-trucks, police cars, paramedic cars.

Bakura could do nothing but watch the fire-fighters and policemen saw apart the shell of a van, trying to get to Ryou. He ignored the tear-filled stares from Duke as he tried to say it was going to be okay, just letting him wipe the blood from his face and hands. Duke was lying to him – it most certainly was not going to be okay. It was the same lie he'd told Ryou, knowing full well what the reality was.

"Excuse me." A soft, female voice caught the attention of Marik – the only one of them who was together enough to pay attention. "We can't have you here while we get him out. It's a big operation and we can't risk one of you losing it and trying to get to him. I have to ask you to wait it out over there in the police car. We'll get back to you if there's news."

Marik nodded slowly. "There's nothing we can do?"

The woman – a female fire-fighter – looked over Marik's shoulder at the blank-faced teen in Duke's arms. "Hope."

* * *

No one had ever seen him this angry. He paced the ground at the head of the long table with a pinched expression, pale with fury. "They're dead!" He shrieked, glaring at each person in the room, finally settling on Alister, who was shrinking lower into his chair. "You were supposed to be shadowing their movements. Where were you?"

Everyone in the room knew where he was – joyriding Ryou's motorcycle. Dartz just wanted to see him squirm. "I-I was just..." He swallowed, searching for something to say that wouldn't make his master more angry. "I just..."

"You were just disobeying me." Dartz stopped pacing behind Alister's chair – almost all eyes in the room remained fixed on the table in front of them, knowing what was next. All but Yugi's, who sat opposite Alister – he couldn't look away. "Maybe I should not give specific members a certain freedom. You were able to do as you wished despite my orders, but do not believe that it was without consequence."

Alister began to tremble – first with fear, then pain. His body convulsed violently as panicked gasps left his lips. Yugi couldn't tear his eyes from him, even when droplets of blood started to leak from his eyes, ears and lips. The droplets became streams, then rivers. He slid down his chair further, mouth filling up while he gagged. He dropped out of sight, beneath the table, still making sick gurgling sounds.

Then silence.

"Mr. Motou." Yugi looked up at his master numbly, seeing the uncaring look his eyes still held. "Why so upset? He allowed your little friend to die as well as Raphael."

"I guess I'm still not used to seeing death, master."

"Hmm." A slow smile crept across Dartz's face. "I suppose you're not." He snapped his fingers and several surrounding members jumped up to clean up the mess of Alister's blood and body. "We shall proceed to get you used to it then."

* * *

He awoke to bright lights, steady beeping and gentle breathing. The utter whiteness of his surroundings contrasted drastically against the blackness he'd last opened his eyes to. His entire body felt stiff as cardboard – even his face felt like it had been dried out in the sun for hours on end. Something heavy laid over the right side of his chest and his arm. He tried to yawn but something was around his jaw, fusing his mouth shut. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what had happened to put him here.

"Ryou?" Someone to the left of him moved closer, their breathing loud to his frayed senses. He knew that voice, but couldn't think of why. "Are you awake?"

Did they expect him to answer? He could hardly think past the brightness, let alone make an understandable sentence. Plus there was that annoying bind on his jaw – what _was_ that? He tried to push a 'yes' through his teeth, but all he got was an almost inaudible "Mmph."

That seemed good enough, it seemed when the person with him let out a relieved laugh and suddenly came into view. "It's so good to see those eyes again." Their face was just a veil of blackness against the pure white of the rest of the room. The person – male he thought – dropped their voice to a whisper. "I missed you."

Missed him? How long had he been here? Fingers brushed his cheekbone as the person before him studied his face. "Your pupils are really dilated. You want the lights off?"

Finally, something that made sense to him. "Mmph."

The other man seemed to take that as a yes because the weight that he didn't even know was on his bed lifted and the silhouette disappeared. A few seconds later the painful brightness was gone, replaced with soft natural light from a window that he couldn't see. The other person returned to hover over him. Blinking the remnants of the light from his eyes, he realised that he _certainly_ recognised this man. 'Bakura!' his mind screamed. "Mmph." He said.

Bakura smiled down at him. "Yeah, it's me." He kissed a spot on his forehead. Why didn't he kiss his lips? "I couldn't risk you waking up alone, so I've been here pretty much all the time. It _truly_ pissed Seto off – he wanted all the fighters in action, but I told him to make do without." He grinned at Ryou, hoping that he could understand what he was saying. "Oh, and Malik woke up! A few days after...it happened. Just like that – the doctors said it was a miracle."

Ryou felt his stomach unclench a little from that news – Malik was okay! Bakura was studying his face closely for reactions. "No one else knows though. I only know because I was here when it happened, but the doctors have kept him in under constant supervision and quarantine because of how suddenly it happened. They haven't even told Marik! I had to sign a contract not to say anything – not sure what having a bit of company would do but whatever." He frowned slightly. "I guess I shouldn't have told you but I knew that you'd want to know."

Ryou attempted to smile but his lips were tight and it hurt to move them. "Don't try to move your jaw, babe. They had to put pins in a few days ago – the bindings should come off tomorrow but it'll still be sore."

Oh, so that's what it was. But that didn't explain why his whole body felt like baked leather. "Um, you broke your nose in the accident but I made sure they put a guide...thing on it. I know how much you love how straight it is – you would have _flipped_ if it set crooked, eh? Um..." Ryou was touched – he hadn't realised how well Bakura knew him, or how much he cared really. They hadn't even been together that long – just a few months – but it felt like they'd been a couple forever. "There's more that I should tell you..." His eyes drifted over to Ryou's right side before snapping back to his face, as if it had never happened. "But, I'll wait until tomorrow when you can talk. You...you'll want to talk about it, I think."

Ryou had no idea what he was talking about, but decided to accept it – he was starting to feel light-headed. Maybe he'd been awake too long – though it had only been a few minutes – or maybe it was the nurse who had entered and administered a healthy dose of morphine when she'd realised he was awake. "Night, Ryou. Love you."


	16. Hidden Weapon

**Valentines day is getting close :) God...Chapter 8 was published on Valentines day 2008...that's just _long_. Makes me feel bad for leaving it for all that time XD Sorry again! Anyway, this chapter was hard to write – couldn't quite portray what I wanted right :( I know the last few chapters have been slow, but I'm building it up to something big...Enjoy!**

**1wildrose1 .. x**

_**Hidden Weapon**_

Something itched – somewhere he couldn't reach. Ryou was quickly becoming irritated with the fact that none of him limbs worked – when he wanted to move, nothing, but when his body felt like itching, _that_ was a different story. Not that it would allow him to scratch the itch – oh no, that would be too simple! He couldn't even huff in frustration because of the pins in his jaw. _Fuck. My. Life._

It had only been a few hours since he'd last woken up, but Bakura was nowhere to be seen – probably gone for something to eat. He was surprised no-one had come to visit him – he knew they were busy plotting against Dartz, but still. Couldn't they come one at a time or something?

"Good morning, Mr. Bakura." A female voice – most likely a nurse or doctor or something – called out to him. He was really starting to get annoyed with people standing to the side of him – he couldn't move his head to look at them, for God's sake! Sounds of tapping and beeping filled the room as she checked his vitals and such before she finally came into view. "It's good to see you awake – you worried us for a while there." _Well I _am_ sorry._ "I'm Dr. June, your surgeon. I'm just going to remove those bindings and check the pins in your jaw. Then we've got to get your mouth moving – providing your strong enough – and see if you can breathe without the oxygen tubes. You think that you're up to all that?"

_No I'm too tired_. "Mmph."

"Excellent." She leaned down and started to gently undo some kind of brace-bind-thing that he didn't even realise was clenched around the entire bottom half of his face – when they said bindings, he thought they meant bandages, not some weird cage thing that made him feel like Hannibal Lecter! "Hmm...it still looks quite swollen – you're going to have to keep talking to a minimum for at least a few days. Now, let's try moving it."

Ryou winced as he tried to shift his jaw slightly, finding that it now moved – albeit stiffly. "Still...hurts." _Oh, God...I sound like I have a mouth full of spit_.

"I know, sweetie, but I can't give you any more morphine at the moment because it will make you drowsy." She smiled at him apologetically. "As soon as we're done here, I'll pump up the dosage and let your guest back in. How does that sound?"

"Good...thanks."

"Right – you'll feel a little breathless for a bit. If you think that you can't breathe by yourself, let me know and I'll assist you." She hooked the oxygen tubes out slowly, watching his face for signs of struggling. Ryou was stunned at how heavy his chest became – like it was made of lead. It took a lot of effort just to inhale, let alone bring in enough air to breathe properly. "I know it's hard, but you need to get used to it. Your partner insisted on being the one to explain the true extent of your injuries, so I'm obligated not to tell you, but this feeling is going to be with you forever. You need to practice."

What did she mean by this feeling being with him forever? He had thought thought that he was just rusty from having been in a coma for...however long it had been. What was going on? He couldn't ask Dr. June due to the immense pressure in his chest. He concentrated on the path of oxygen, noticing that he couldn't feel the chill of the air in his right lung but could in his left. _That's weird_. Maybe he really had suffered more damage than he'd realised – it still felt like there was something heavy on his right side. He really hoped that Bakura would get there soon to explain it all.

After about five or six minutes of adjusting the heaviness of his chest, Ryou felt like he was able to breathe without Dr. June's supervision. "I'm...fine...now."

She nodded and fully removed the tubes that she had been holding, ready to replace them in case he needed them. "Okay, I need you to open your mouth as wide as you can." Ryou attempted to do so, only getting as far as a centimetre. "Come on, I know you can do better than that." He grumbled and strained his jaw wider – getting it to two centimetres. "I guess that'll have to do." She pulled put a small torch and checked inside his mouth, popping in her finger to tap the places where the pins were. Stepping back, she nodded happily. "Wonderful. Everything seems in order. I'll let your partner back in now."

As soon as she left, Bakura rushed in with a bright smile on his face. "Ryou! Morning." He settled on the only space on the bed which wasn't covered in wires or Ryou. "Sorry that I wasn't here when you woke up – Dr. What's-her-name told me that I had to leave for the examination."

"S'okay." Ryou tried to smile and ended up with a tiny jerk of the lips.

"Hey, look who can talk." Bakura grinned and leaned down to give him a kiss – the first one his lips since he'd been there. "I've wanted to do that for weeks."

"How...long...?"

"What, how long have you been here? Um..." Bakura frowned and thought back. "Just over a month I think...yeah."

_A month?_ He had no idea it had been that long! How were the others doing? What was going on with the feud with Dartz? Where was...wait...What happened to..."Raphael?"

Bakura growled at the mention of him. "He's dead." He cracked his knuckles – a habit he had that tended to get worse when he was agitated. "Good thing that van killed him 'cos I would have had to take precious Ryou-visiting time out of my day to do so myself."

"Oh." He didn't know what to feel about that. Raphael had kidnapped him, beat him and practically promised to rape him. But still, death...he wouldn't wish that on him. Ryou gave himself a mental shake – he was going soft. Sure, he could feel that way about most people, but he was a fighter in a war and Raphael was the enemy – he would have ended up killing him or his allies anyway...but still..."Ba...kura...?"

He looked up from his mental reverie to see what his lover wanted. "Hmm?"

"What's...wrong...right...side?" Ryou gasped each word – it was becoming hard to talk now. Dr. June had told him to take it easy on the conversations, but he had to know. He instantly began to panic when Bakura's face drained of colour as he gulped. "What?"

"Um...about that." Bakura brushed his fingers against Ryou's face, keeping eye contact. "There were some complications in getting you out of the wreckage. Uh..." He tightened his lips as he thought about what he needed to say. "Before I tell you, I want you to know that I'll be there through it all, okay? I won't leave – I'll help you through it."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ryou noted the machine monitoring his heart began to beep more rapidly. "What...scaring...me...Kura."

Bakura nodded sadly, forcing himself to stare into Ryou's eyes as he told him – it was the least he could do to promise his boyfriend sincerely that he would help. "I know – I'm sorry. But..." He took a deep breath. "As I said, you took a lot of damage and they couldn't get you out of the van quick enough so...they...Ry, they had to amputate your arm."

"Oh." Ryou didn't feel anything. Maybe it was too big of a shock, but the information just point-blank refused to register in his brain. They took his arm? But...it felt heavy. "Okay." Even to his own ears, Ryou sounded dazed.

Bakura looked about ready to cry – _Bakura? Cry?_ "That's not it..." _Great_. "The metal pierced your lung and crushed most of the ribs on your right side beyond repair. They put in a new lung made out of fibres of titanium – it's all put together in tiny pieces so that its flexible. Um..." He shrugged nervously, seeing that Ryou was having a hard time taking it in. "You've got five metal ribs...um...part of your collarbone, your shoulder and all of your arm are titanium too."

"But..." Ryou had started shaking – odd...his body seemed to be responding by shivering, making him feel queasy and putting a lump in his throat, but his mind still felt strangely distant. "Still...heavy."

Bakura let out a small, bitter laugh. "Yeah, it will be heavy. You've got yourself a bionic arm right there – has to come with some kind of setback, eh?" He pressed their cheeks together as he held back those damn tears. He'd _never_ been so vulnerable before in front of anyone and it was hard to let someone else see him cry – plus this was Ryou's tragedy, not his; it wasn't his place to get upset. "I'm going to be here, though. If you need me."

"Thank...you." Ryou lifted his left arm slowly – still slow from lack of use – and cupped his lover's face lovingly, albeit awkwardly. He noticed that the two fingers furthest from his thumb were bound together with bandages and that he couldn't move them. Wow...why did the fact that he'd broken his fingers bother him more than that he'd lost most of the right side of his body? Wait...he'd never be able to move properly again...like, ever... "Love...you."

"Love you, too." Bakura rubbed their noses together in an Eskimo kiss. When he pulled back, he found Ryou's face glistening in tears. It had finally got to him. So Bakura just held him – for over three hours – and just let him cry, fall asleep, wake up and cry again. At some point a nurse entered to give him more morphine as Dr. June had promised, making Ryou even more sleepy. "Ry, I have to leave for a while – not all of us are fed through a tube. I'll be back before you wake up, okay?"

"Hmm." Ryou was already half-out of it but he still wished that Bakura wouldn't go, gripping his boyfriend as he slipped out of consciousness.

As soon as he was sure Ryou was completely out, Bakura slipped from the room and down to the car park – he hated lying to Ryou, but this was the only way he wouldn't panic. If he knew that he was going back to HQ, he'd want updates and messages but that just couldn't happen and Bakura didn't want to lie more than necessary.

The drive back was difficult – the road was now riddled with potholes and chunks of rubble were strewn about the place. When the fighters were split into two sides, the battles were fierce, yes, but never caused as much damage as this feud with Dartz had. Since the death of Raphael, Dartz had seen red and started a full-scale attack on everything and everyone related to the fighters. They all had to relocate headquarters just to avoid being massacred, but the citizens had nowhere to run but out of the city. Domino was now a ghost-town – nothing but a battleground. In fact, the only places left out of the fray were the hospitals and the holy grounds.

He abandoned the car – stolen, because they avoided using the same vehicle for more than a few hours in case Dartz's followers were around – and made his way cautiously to the derelict building which now housed the fighters. Everyone was gathered in a bare room in the back of the house – shock followed his entrance.

"Bakura!" Marik blinked slowly, disbelieving the fact that he was here after so long – the last time they'd seen the white-haired man was over three weeks ago, when they had just been told that Ryou was as good as dead. "What the hell, man? Where have you been?"

Bakura stared around at the gawking faces, keeping up his act of indifference. "Came to get some stuff to tide me over. That's all." He made his way to the stairs at the side of the room when he was stopped by Seto. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" Seto snarled at him, blocking his way out. "You left when we needed you to fight with us."

Bakura glared at the floor in annoyance. He had an excuse – a damn good one, even if they didn't know the real reason – and Seto was still on his case. "Move."

"Not until you tell me why you abandoned us."

Bakura cracked his knuckles absent-mindedly, breathing heavily through his nose. "You fucking know why."

Seto sighed in frustration. "You're upset – I get that – but it's been a month now. It shouldn't take you this long to pull yourself together..."

"_Excuse me?_" He knew that what he was saying didn't actually apply to him, but it _truly_ pissed him off. How would he be over it already? How could he ever get over it? If it had actually happened, that is. "You know what? Don't fucking talk to me until Joey dies and then tell me when you're over it. Tell me that you'll be able to face it within your own lifetime. Tell me that every damn breath you take doesn't remind you of him and the fact that he's gone forever."

Seto's eyes flickered to Joey and back to the seething man in front of him biting back the vicious words on his tongue – he despised hearing him talk about his lover like that, but it did slam his point home. "Fine. I know it's early, but we need you back. Dartz has been launching attack after attack – we've already lost the three young ones; we can't lose you too."

Bakura hated lying to them all – letting them think Ryou was dead, keeping the fact that Malik was awake from them, leaving them out of his self-induced mission. But it wouldn't work if they knew – none of them would be safe. No – it had to be him, and him alone. "Just move, Seto."

"Seriously?" Leon's was scrunched in a hurt expression. "You're leaving us again?"

_Stop making me feel guilty – I'm doing this for you all! _"Sorry." With that, Bakura pushed past the stunned teenagers to collect his things – being as quick as possible – and rushed out of the building. He turned over his thoughts on the way back to the hospital – could he give it all up? Allow everyone to live while he gave everything he'd known away? For the others? For Ryou? Of course. That wasn't even a question. But he needed to say goodbye; to see his face – the ultimate motivator. The last thought he ever planned to have.

_Tonight it ends._


	17. The Time Has Come

**One of my friends pointed out that I've made Bakura quite gentle and Ryou quite tough in most of my stories, so I re-read the series and realised that it might not be clear why. I don't interpret Bakura as evil and Ryou as innocent because if you watch the series and read the manga closely they are much the same – they both act the way they do in response to losing their family and they actually do rely on each other to survive. Plus Bakura took a hit from the Winged Dragon of Ra in Battle City for Ryou. Anyway, back to the story. Enjoy!**

**1wildrose1 .. x**

_**The Time Has Come**_

His arm was gone. Just...gone. He would never be able to feel things when he touched them with that hand or feel the cold against that part of his chest. The fingers of his left hand stretched and brushed the sheets of his hospital, feeling the sterile plastic-like material against his skin – a feeling that wasn't reciprocated on his other side. He didn't even know if his hand was moving.

He used the strength in his legs – which were pretty much the only parts of his body that were unscathed from the crash – to slide himself further up the bed and reached for the bed controls with his left hand. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his back as the bed folded upwards, he glanced down at his own gown-clad body and wanted to cry. It looked so normal – like a real arm. The sight of it made the tips of his fingers tingle with the memory of touch.

"Ryou, you're sitting up?" Bakura grinned at him as he entered the room with a bunch of flowers and a box of expensive chocolate. "Thought I'd act like a normal boyfriend and shower you with 'Get Well Soon' gifts."

He had to smile at that. "Thanks...Kura." His eyes followed Bakura as he put the flowers in a vase on his bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Chocolate?" The older man offered the box to the one on the bed.

"No...thanks...later." Ryou reached up to touch Bakura's face, setting the feel of his skin into the concrete of his mind.

Bakura glanced down, noticing that Ryou must have seen his arm by now. "You tried to move it yet?"

"N-no." _Oh, God...I sound so close to tears_. "Can't."

Bakura shook his head. "Of course you can." He shifted himself so that he hovered over his lover, staring into his eyes. "There is _nothing_ that you can't do."

"But..." Tears escaped his eyes, no matter how desperately he was to keep them at bay. "I'm...scared to...find...out that...I can't...feel...anything."

Bakura's eyebrows knitted together and, without words, he lined up his fingertips with those on Ryou's left hand. Slowly, he trailed them up his skin in feather-light touches – watching Ryou's eyes close and flicker beneath the lids. By the time he got to his shoulder, Ryou was visibly relaxed. Bakura's fingers played down his ribs and along his chest, moving back up to brush his collarbone.

As soon as he got to the second half of his collarbone, Ryou's eyes snapped open and he started gasping hysterically. "Shhh, babe. It's okay." Bakura leaned forward and kissed his forehead, whispering sweet words, soothing him. When Ryou calmed down, Bakura leaned back, making a mental note of where the numbness started, and continued down his ribs – he counted each one until Ryou responded with an almost silent sigh, noting that this was where it ended. He looked up through his eyelashes at Ryou. "Put your hands on my shoulders, Ry."

Ryou's head shook slightly. "I...can't."

"Yes you can." He stopped all physical contact with Ryou, making the boy whimper, and looked at him expectantly. "Use your powers for the strength. I know that you're able to do it."

Ryou shook his head and gripped Bakura's shoulder with his left hand. "Kura...please – that's...good enough."

"I have to disagree." He intensely locked eyes with the boy below him to show him how much he wanted him to do this. "You have to at least try."

"O-okay." Ryou's heart seemed to be beating slower than usual but heavily, thudding in his ears and making his skin throb. Why was he so nervous? _That's easy – I'm bloody terrified that I'll never move it again_. He grit his teeth and focused his magic towards his right arm – feeling the trickle of power sliding through his pores fade as it reached the prosthesis. He mentally pulled his arm upwards, willing it to move. Nothing happened. "Isn't...working."

"C'mon, you only tried once – practice makes perfect."

Ryou sighed in response and repeated the process, squeezing his eyes shut in concentration. Once again, nothing happened. "Nothing."

"Keep going." Bakura caressed his lover's face as he tried again, watching the tiny beads of sweat form from the strain. "Your fingers twitched!"

"What?" Ryou glanced down in shock, seeing that – indeed – his fingers were raised slightly higher than before. His heart swelled in relief – _they moved!_

"Try again." Though he remained calm on the outside, Bakura was ecstatic. His Ryou was going to be okay and it was an amazing reassurance to know that – should anything go wrong tonight – Ryou would be able to take care of himself.

Over the next hour and a half, Ryou tried again and again – the movement progressed from his fingers to his wrist and from his wrist to his whole arm. He stiffly raised his arm and pushed himself to reach out to Bakura's shoulder, only making it to his forearm – this, however, was definitely enough progress for Ryou to don the largest smile he had since waking up. "I did...it!"

Bakura couldn't stop grinning and kissing his face. "I knew you could! I'm so proud of you." He caught his lips in a kiss full of congratulations, love and relief. Ryou's good hand slid up to the back of his head to grip his hair as he sighed happily.

"Thank...you." Bakura was about to answer that it was nothing but Ryou shook his head and fixed him with a look that cut him off. "I...mean it. Thank you...for everything...I love...you." He pulled him back down to kiss him sweetly, being too exhausted from Bakura's home-made physiotherapy to lean up. When he backed away, he caught the hesitant look on his boyfriend's face before he managed to hide it. "What's wrong?"

Bakura shook his head. "Nothing." He quickly looked around for the remote to lower the bed back down, changing the subject. "You're tired, Ry – don't deny it! It's been two hours at least since you last slept and I'm pretty sure that Dr. June told you to rest every hour and a half."

Ryou frowned, keeping his hands on Bakura's arms. "But I don't want you to go."

"I won't go." _I hate lying to you_. He leant across and pushed the button that released the morphine. "Man, you're going to get hooked on this stuff."

The boy on his back snorted and shrugged. "Bit...late."

"I guess." Bakura chuckled and kissed Ryou's forehead. "Night, Ry – I love you." _Please remember that_. "Always."

"Mmm." Ryou's eyelids were getting heavy – that stuff was really fast. "Love you...too."

He watched as his love quickly fell into a deeper and deeper sleep, watching his eyes flicker beneath their lids – drinking in every last moment he had with him. After ten minutes of staring at his face, Bakura remembered how short time was and forced himself to stand._ It's now or never_. "Sorry – I have to go. See you..." He paused and bit his lip. "I guess I won't be seeing you, eh? Um..." He turned, holding his breath, and strode stiffly to the door. "I love you, Ry."

* * *

"How much longer am I going to be kept here? You're treating me like a prisoner!" Malik slammed his hands onto the glass barrier that separated him from his doctor.

"Calm down, Mr. Ishtar. We still have some tests to conduct – you woke so suddenly from that coma that we aren't quite sure what the implications on your mental state is."

"Then why keep me quarantined?" He asked furiously. "I think you can tell that I'm sane enough not to lash out at staff or – I don't know – my friends!"

"On the contrary, Mr. Ishtar, you are behaving extremely hostile as of late."

"Well, never! I've been stuck in a room on my own, been prodded and poked by every needle, machine and device that you can lay your hands on and patronised and lied to by pompous little know-it-nots who call themselves doctors for over a week!" He slumped himself onto his bed and shoved a pillow over his face. Suddenly, the door opened and several members of staff flew in to restrain him, pulling the pillow away and brandishing a needle containing something purple. "Wait! I wasn't trying to suffocate myself – Ra!"

The doctors backed away slightly, still visibly cautious. "Are you feeling violent at all? Wary?"

Sighing, Malik shook his head. "Nope, not at all. I feel fine. Like I have all week – fine. Like I always have – _fine_."

Several notes were made on a clipboard as they observed him like a specimen. "Well, you're making progress, Mr. Ishtar – this is the longest we've been in here without needing to restrain you!" His voice was laced in that fake holiday-rep excitement which grated on Malik's nerves like he couldn't believe.

"Great – can I see my friend now?"

"Hmm..." The doctor tapped his pen on his teeth repeatedly, considering it. "I suppose...but we need to get your MRI scans back first – that should only take a few hours at most."

Malik groaned and threw himself face first onto the mattress, getting himself restrained again and threatened with the purple needle. __

_I'm never getting out of this hell-hole!_

* * *

"Something is up." Marik growled as he stared into the face of everyone in the room. "Bakura isn't like that. I know he lost Ryou no long ago but things like that usually make him see red and use

any excuse to fight – why the hell is he refusing to go after Dartz?"

"Unless he already is?" Mokuba bit his lip and turned to his older brother. "Seto, what if he's going after Dartz himself?"

"Even Bakura isn't that stupid."

"But an upset and angry-at-the-world Bakura?"

Seto frowned and gave Mokuba a warning look. "Don't, Mokuba. He is upset now – granted – but he will get over it."

"You say that now, Seto, but do you think I'm over what happened to Malik yet?" Marik narrowed his eyes at the leader. "He might not be dead but they won't let me see him so he's as good as. What about Yami? You think he's over Yugi yet?"

"At least you're both still fighting."

"So you're ready to force him to fight just because he hasn't reacted the way you wanted him to?"

Seto stood straight and glared around the room, reminding them all who was in charge. "If need be then yes." He strode to the exit, pausing just before he disappeared behind the door. "Prepare yourselves to leave – we're going to find him and drag him to Dartz's mansion."

"What?" Yami's eyes were wide and his jaw hung open. "We're going to his home turf? Are you _trying_ to kill us all?"

"I am sick of this pointless back and forth we have going – he is just sending out small groups at a time to bide his time and I'm pissed off with it now. We're finding out why." He turned back to the room and stood firm, addressing them with the severity of a commander. "Tonight it's kill or be killed."

**Next chapter is the last (not counting the epilogue) – it's all happening now!**


	18. Here I Stand

**The song below sets the mood for the chapter so I advise listening to it either before or while you read – only a suggestion ;) Ready for the finale? Enjoy!**

**1wildrose1 .. x**

_Am I going insane (insane)_

_My blood is boiling inside of my veins_

_An evil feeling attacks (attacks)_

_My body's shaking there's no turning back_

_don't take your eyes off the trigger _

_I'm not to blame if your world turns to black_

_as your eyes start to blister_

_there's just no hope for our final embrace_

_So here we are, I'm in your head_

_I'm in your heart!_

_You were told to to run away_

_soak the place and light the flame_

_Pay the price for your betrayal_

_Your betrayal, Your Betrayal!_

_I was told to stay away_

_Those two words I can't obey_

_Pay the price for your betrayal_

_Your betrayal, Your Betrayal!_

_**Bullet For My Valentine – Your Betrayal**_

**WARNING: Language, Gore and Character Death.**

_**Here I Stand**_

_I have no regret. _That's what he told himself as he lay dying. The swirls of the intricate ceiling turned into tiny smiles, subtle winks, sparkling eyes. His last thought would be of Ryou – he was making sure of that. _No pain_. He had been promised a painless death, after all – though it was bloody and brutal. He lay there, in the middle of a crowded room being spit on and cursed at – laughed at. He didn't care – his mind began to drift away, eyes going glassy. _Goodbye, Ry-Ry._

"Bakura!" Someone screamed – he didn't know who. There was laughter, snarls, crackling of magic.

"Enough." That voice – it was the one that killed him. The squawking stopped instantly, leaving the room in dead silence. "I see you have arrived, finally. But, as you see, being fashionably late has eluded dramatic purpose this time. I was hoping for such an entertaining final showdown. However, I have already killed two of you, made one of you comatose and turned one of you turncoat. Joseph, can you not see what you have caused by defying me?"

"Do _not_ place the blame on me, you fucking psychopath!" That was...Joey? Really? He was beginning to lose to ability to recognise voices. Apart from his Ryou's...he would never forget Ryou. "Why? Why this?"

"This man came to me – offered me his life for the sake of yours, Joseph, as an incentive for me to leave Domino." The voice drifted closer, in sync with slow, precise footsteps. Something heavy landed on his chest and pushed down, squeezing out most of the remaining air in his lungs. "How foolish. Though I was intrigued. I gave my word to spare your life in return for his. Not quite the deal he had in mind, I believe. But he seemed glad."

"You bastard! I'll fucking kill you!" There was a scuffle and several shouts – crackles of magic.

"Joey, stop!" A new voice. "Do not risk yourself unnecessarily." The speaker approached and stood fast several places away from where he lay, gurgling silently on airless breaths. "We're here to end it, Dartz. I will not allow you to drag this out any more."

"Will you not?" The weight on his chest lifted as the voice – Dartz – stepped back. "What say you, Yugi? Should we allow them to end it?"

"That decision is only yours to make, master."

"Yugi..." Another voice – too many for his suffocated mind to handle. "Please..."

"He is under a contract, Mr. Atemu. One he cannot break for love nor money." A laugh. "Fine. Have it your way. We end this."

Everything blurred after that – his mind began to shut down from lack of oxygen or loss of blood. _Ryou...Ryou...be my last thought. Please..._Time seemed to stand still as darkness washed over him – a battle surely raged over his lifeless body, yet he heard none of it. Only Ryou's voice as he whispered to him._ "Bakura." _It sounded so soft...so close. _"Open your eyes, Kura." _Open his eyes? But he was dead – how could he? Bright light burned against his closed lids, making the surrounding screams and shouts ring in his ears once again – albeit slightly muffled. What was going on? "Wake up!"

"For the love of all that's holy...open your damn eyes, Itemri!" What? That wasn't Ryou. That was...Malik. What what Malik doing here? He sounded mad..."Wake up before I beat you awake."

"Malik, seriously, shut up." Why was _he_ there? He had to protect Ryou from him – but how? He was dead. A shadow loomed over his face, pressing down on him. "Should I do it again?"

_Do what again? _"Please!" Ryou? Why was he speaking to _him _as though he was a friend? That light burned bright once again, heating his skin – slowly, his bones began to crack back into place as cooling blood trickled back up his skin and sealed itself into closing wounds. The remainder of the fog that had shrouded his brain dispersed, letting him think clearer – he was still laying on the ground, but it felt colder than before. "Bakura?" Ryou sounded so close to tears.

"I upped the power that time – he should be awake..." The traitor said.

"Get...away... from Ryou." Bakura's eyes cracked open and – sure enough – he found himself looking up at Ryou, Malik and...Yugi. "Why the fuck are _you_ here?"

A flicker of hurt flashed in his eyes before it disappeared behind the bulletproof façade that he had developed in his time with Dartz. "Saving your ass. Why, what does it look like?"

"Looks like some little traitor sneak is trying to worm his way back into our good books." I was well aware of the pained look on Ryou's face as he watched our exchange.

"Watch what you say, Itemri – I don't exactly hold much love for you. The only reason you're breathing right now is Ryou. Don't forget that."

"Like I could." He turned to face his boyfriend, only to receive a smack to the face.

"You fucking liar!" Ryou's skin was flushed in anger as he puffed hot air through his nose, shocking them all with his uncharacteristic swearing. "You told me that you wouldn't go!" Bakura held off the rest of his half-hearted attacks, allowing him to collapse into his arms, sobbing and no longer able to talk above a whisper. "I thought you were dead...If Yugi hadn't..."

"Shhh." Bakura sat up, still holding him, and smiled apologetically. "He wanted Joey, so I thought that I could persuade him to take me instead and leave Domino – and you all – alone." He shrugged a little at the sceptical looks he received from the three boys beside him. "It didn't quite work that way."

"Really?" Malik's voice dripped in sarcasm as he rose an eyebrow at him.

"Really." Bakura's eyes were still warily trained on Yugi, watching for any suspicious behaviour. "Remind me why the _three_ of you are here? Together?"

"I found Ryou in the hospital after the so-called doctors allowed me freedom and he was panicking because you were gone. I went to open the window so that he could have some fresh air when Yugi appeared behind the glass – scaring the living shit out of us, I must add." Malik shrugged and pulled his knees up to his chest as he leaned against the wall behind him. "Obviously we reacted the same way you did, but he shut us up quickly when he told us how _you _had stupidly ordered an audience with Dartz. He's helping us, Bakura – he even used his powers to help Ryou heal faster so that we could come and save your sorry ass."

"Now why would you come back to us after all this time? After all you've done to us?" Bakura ground his teeth together to restrain himself from raising his voice – their was still a battle going on somewhere beyond where they had dragged him and he was not yet in any condition to join it.

"I did it for my brother. Well..." Yugi tightened his shoulders and glared at the floor. "I thought I did. Turns out that I signed my life away for a bunch of damn lies."

"Joey told you that." Bakura used the wall and Ryou's help to stand up slowly, still focused on Yugi. "I don't trust you. Traitor – that's all you'll ever be. I'd thank you for bringing me back to life but you did that for Ryou, not me. So what do you want?"

For several moments, nothing was said – Malik and Ryou just stood there, watching the exchange anxiously. Yugi hugged the wall and glanced around the corner at the battle, answering over his shoulder. "There's no other way out of this for me – no matter who wins here, I'm still his bitch whether I like it or not." He rolled back along the wall towards them, meeting Bakura's stare – he was so much more a man than they ever remembered him to be. "I want to die here."

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

They were up against a group strong in size, yes, but weak in ability. Only Dartz, Alister, Valon and Yugi had powers, and Yugi had disappeared in the fray – the rest were just normal humans, easily dispatched by the nine fighters from Domino. But there were hundreds of them blocking their path to the three on the podium at the back, all watching serenely – all except Valon, who had a panicky expression as his eyes darted around the room.

Blood caked the floor as they fought their way through the mound of humans – they were far too closely packed to use their powers without harming themselves, so they had to resort to ripping weapons out of the humans' hands and hacking them down, at an advantage due to their magically-raised strength.

Marik and Yami had been pushed back to back as the enemy pressed around them, cutting into flesh and frying them with magic at any chance. One man came flying towards Leon, grabbing the front of his shirt and dragging a knife through the air – blood spurted from his chest as the blade collided before he could push the attacker away. Mokuba dived behind him, driving his thick hunter's knife into his throat, slashing it open, making him gargle and fall away from Leon.

Joey rammed a path through the middle, blinding them with his power over light – being the only one they would not attack – allowing the others to follow behind, ripping the life from those in their path. Suddenly, Tristan was pulled into the crowd backwards, dropping his dagger on the way. Duke growled and dived after him as they both were swallowed by the enemy ranks.

"Duke! Tristan!" Mokuba cried, attempting to fight his way to them, only to be yanked back by his brother.

"No time. We go on!"

They struggled their way to the podium, being stabbed and torn at all the way. As they approached, Alister and Valon strolled towards them, crackling magic under their skin – ready to fight. "You'll have to get through us if you want to get to Master Dartz." Alister grinned insanely while Valon's face remained reluctant, his eyes still flickering around the room.

Marik, Zigfried, Mokuba and Leon stepped forward, all rolling their shoulders, ready to fight while Seto, Yami and Joey kept the army back. "What is your obsession, Dartz? Why do you want Joey?"

The tyrant merely chuckled darkly at Leon's potent questions. "Why indeed."

With that, Alister lunged forward, fire clenched in his fists, followed by a reluctant Valon, who rolled lightning between his fingers. Marik was the first to be struck with the combined magic attacks – the lightning being negated by his own electrical power. The fire, however, shot across his skin, roasting the flesh of his chest and face. He cried out and beat his hands frantically against the flames, trying to extinguish them as the others retaliated by yelling and directing their own spells.

Joey flashed light in any direction he could, blinding and burning the enemy so that they were weakened to hiss comrades attacks – despite his efforts, they were struggling. There was three of them against three hundred and, even with their advantages, they were beginning to lose badly. Yami growled in pain as a blade connected with his stomach, driving in deep. Blood gushed out of the wound, all over the assailant's hand before Yami grit his teeth and focused a death spell, killing the other before he could release the knife. He battled on – in spite of the dagger protruding from his body – waving away Seto's attempts to guard him from attack.

Suddenly, a scream was heard – desperate, angry, petrified. "Yami!" Yugi burst in from a door behind the podium, deathly white with his face twisted in panic.

Said man frowned in pain and confusion. "Yugi...?"

"Yugi!" Valon cried in relief – the worry that had been etched into his features lessening. "Where did you go?"

"Yeah, where _did_ you go?" Alister scowled at the approaching boy, crossing his arms as he came to a halt beside him, facing the fighters.

"I was..."

"Winning this thing for us." An amused and determined sneer preceded the appearance of Malik, closely followed by both Ryou and Bakura, each holding a look of absolute resolution – they were here to win. The whole fight stopped through shock – horror, in Dartz's case – and the room was thick with silence. "You tried to kill us Dartz – tried to turn us against each other. You failed."

"M..Malik." Marik chocked in agony as he saw the face he had craved to see for months alive and well. Angry red blisters ran along his neck and most of his chest – which was now visible through his charred shirt.

There was a scream of utter fury as Dartz turned and released a roiling ball of deathly magic at Malik. Ryou yelled and dived in the way, holding his arms forward to protect himself, making the attack rebound off of him and fly towards the mass of stunned humans, killing at least ten of them by chocking in their own blood. "What?"

The madman recoiled in anger as Ryou raised his right arm higher, showing not only him, but his friends also. "You didn't kill me, Dartz – you made me stronger." His eyes connected with said man – the smirk on his face pained at the knowledge of how hurt some of his friends had become while they waited for Bakura to recover.

All of a sudden, Dartz began to cackle, his eyes firmly fixated on Bakura. "Well, now, Mr. Itemri. I suppose our deal is off – you are not dead, so I am not obliged to keep Joseph alive." He turned to Joey and readied his magic. "Now it will truly be over."

Seto growled and darted forward, gritting his teeth through the burns of fire and lightning as he pushed past Alister and Valon. But before he could get in the spell's path, Yugi's body collided with his master's, slamming him into the floor.

The world seemed to freeze as Yugi's determined eyes glared into the wide multicoloured ones beneath him. The great Dartz looked so defeated in everybody's eyes – the humans even began to panic and back out of the room, seeing that this war was about to finish. But time flowed again, reminding them all of the spell that had been prepared. Yugi was blasted into the air, spewing blood from his nose and mouth before he collided heavily with the floor.

"Yu...gi." Yami ground out as he crawled towards the still body of his love, having had fell to his knees from blood-loss some time before. He stared down into the glassy eyes below him – still holding the look of determination and fearlessness. "No...no!" It happened so fast – the fight didn't even stop. Somehow, he had expected it to be more dramatic – to have some last words. At least some indication that Yugi Motou had just taken his last breath.

Valon cried out as his defiant thoughts of rushing to his dead brother wreaked havoc on his body, but struggled his way to the bottom of the podium. "Stay right there, Valon." Alister had his palms raised, directed at the brunette. "Stay right there or I'll make you."

Valon kept his gaze on the lifeless body at his feet. The very reason that he was still in the service of a madman now lay below him, dead. He clenched his fists and swirled around to face Dartz, completely ignoring the threats of his so-called partner. "That's our conditions breached, Dartz. I am no longer your puppet." He started running towards him, crackling magic in his raised fists. Before he could reach him, Alister tackled him to the ground and struggled with him.

Ryou used the fact that Dartz's protection was severely incapacitated to dive at him and grip his throat, fully intending to use his power of water to drown him. Seto, Mokuba and Bakura ran at the two, trying to overpower him before he could unleash his power.

Dartz clawed Ryou's arms with a hellish grin on his face, as he ran his element along the skin he gripped. To his horror, Ryou didn't even flinch as magic flowed through his body. Just as the others reached them, he smirked and nodded at the arm Dartz was holding. "Sorry – bionic arm. Sucks for you."

Dartz was soon smothered by his enemy, trying to muster his magic quick enough to kill some of them – he was not fast enough. Seto gripped the dagger in his hand hard, driving it into the monster's chest and stomach repeatedly until he stilled.

There was no final scene – no speech. That was it. They all fell back from Dartz's body, bloody and tired – reeling in the disbelief that it was over so quickly.

"Oh, fuck – Yami!" Marik growled through his pain as he witnessed Yami collapse on top of his lover.

Leon got there before Marik could, leaning down and pulling Yami's face up gently, placing his fingers under his nose. His face twisted as he fought the tears building behind his eyes. "He's not breathing."

"Oh Ra..." Ryou dropped to his knees through exhaustion and emotion as he glanced around, observing the chaos that couldn't quite reach his mind yet. Yugi was dead. Yami was dead. Alister was dead – killed by Valon in their struggle. Tristan and Duke were missing, despite the disappearance of every ordinary human in the room.

So many had died for the sake of a madman's lust for power.

Bakura walked up to him, numb from what had just occurred, and crouched beside Ryou, offering the small comfort of an arm wrapped around his shoulders. The smaller of the two accepted the embrace in silence, leaning his head into Bakura's shoulders.

Seto backed away from comforting Joey to address his team – his family. "My friends..." He stopped and made eye contact with each and every tortured face in the room, making sure that they all heard his words and felt the passion behind them. "Today, was terrible. We lost...too many." He couldn't bring himself to look at the bodies – each drenched in blood that should not have been shed. "But know this – Dartz is dead. We won – it's over!" He straightened his back and squared his shoulders, telling them all something that they had wanted to hear for years – so many years. "We are free!"

**To everyone who stuck by this story all of the way through, thank you. This would never have finished without you .. x**


	19. Epilogue

**I apologise for anyone who was looking forward to a lemon in this chapter, but it didn't feel right to include it – I want to clear some things up that I didn't explain in the main body of the story and give them some peace. It's short, but I'm really happy with it. This is the very last view of Takeover – enjoy!**

**1wildrose1 .. x**

_**Epilogue**_

_**Ryou's POV**_

It seems a cliché to start this entry with how long it has been since that final battle – wrong to document those life changing events in such an overused way. But how else would I tell you that it had been ten short years since Domino finally found peace?

The city has been rebuilt to its former glory – how it had been, not before Dartz, but before the Kaiba and von Schroeder elders began their feud. We had to work hard to regain the trust of the citizens, labouring endlessly in their aid – eventually we were accepted enough to walk among them without inflicting fear, but it was a long time before we were treated as normal citizens.

Valon moved away soon after the battle, unable to face what had happened to Yugi, but not before he explained some things that I had questioned back then – the things that led to me losing my arm. He told us about Malik's father – who joined Dartz's cause and had been forced to do disgusting things to his own son – and he told us that, when Dartz realised that Malik was the same kid that he had forced the abuse onto all those years ago, he decided to use him again to weaken our forces. He used the magic of one his followers who could control relationships to force us all to accept each other and become close so that we would become emotionally unstable when he picked us off, starting with Malik. It also came about that Joey's power over light was the only thing which could oppose Dartz's element – he didn't want to risk Joey discovering his power over him, so he decided to seek him out before Joey found out. He had it in his head that having him on his side would not only protect him, but strengthen his forces – signing Yugi up again was just a sick head game.

Tristan and Duke...they lived, but they were never the same. They saw how corrupt those humans had truly become – barely escaping their masses intact – and decided to break away from us to hunt down those that had ran away – they couldn't let people like that stay that way for the safety of anyone who would be unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. I know that their goal was to reform them, but I'm afraid that they have had to kill more often than not.

Most of the other fighters lead fairly normal lives now – Leon and Mokuba got married and are currently undergoing the process of adoption; Zigfried wrote a book about our experiences and is now a very successful author; Seto now runs the city after Zigfried abdicated his power to pursue his dreams and is supported unconditionally by his new husband, Joey.

Marik still bears the angry burns from that night – they cover his arms, chest and even mar a large portion of his face. That never drove Malik away – in fact, it spurred him to go back to college and finish his science courses to help him get into university. He's now a qualified doctor, despite his previous hate for them, and he takes care of his fiancé with all the grace and love that he possess.

Me and Bakura? We still live in Domino – actually, we played a part in rebuilding the city, seeing as Bakura's now an architect and I'm Seto's accountant. I know it seems mundane after everything, but that's what we needed – normality. A boring life, some say – a happy life, I say. We see our friends regularly without fear of what could happen to them; we're financially stable, able to afford relative luxuries; we can be together with no obstacles to get in our way.

Bakura's first project was his proudest – one which we still visit every Sunday. A church – one situated on the highest peak in the area, overlooking the places where such devastation had occurred. There is nothing special about it in appearance, really – just a small stone chapel with stained glass windows and forever open doors. It's what is in front of the building which makes it sacred: a large rectangular monument set low in the ground, scribed with the names of all who died needlessly in the war – fighter and citizen alike – with two stone figures laying peacefully side by side, as though they were sleeping; hands joined, smiles on their faces. At their feet, separate from the other names, lay a plaque:

_Though they may be sleeping here, our friends are safe in the care of God._

_Rest in peace, Yami Atemu and Yugi Motou._

_They are truly free now._


End file.
